Centralia, ghost town, tough going

[pa-dirt_nc-sand]

Decided to take a slight detour on my way back from NYC, https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centralia,_Pennsylvania. Now a ghost town from early 1800's



Strategy was detect the old high school field and adjacent yards based on 1930aerial photo. This backfired as all of the yards and the field were badly overgrown. Detectable areas seemed to be where houses once stood, but now high brush with mega trash everywhere. I have not been skunked all year, but thought this would be the day. After 2 hours I finally dug a 1981 penny, relief!

For midday on a weekday I was surprised at how many people were milling around. The place is very interesting but definitely depressing.

I believe other detectorists have had success here, but at least I can check "ghost town detecting" off the bucket list.

 

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[Oddjob]

I think another user has a thread about this place.

 

[jeff of pa]

Yes unfortunately you must Hug the bases of Big Old Trees with your coil to detect undisturbed ground.

or at least hit the place in winter just after a big Snow Melt.

Cool you hit it though !
Most of the old finds we had found around the High school site was on the South side of where the School Building sat. North side of Park St.

 

[CMDiamonddawg]

Ghost towns are Kool places to hunt .... aside from thousands of rattle and beer cans .. mind boggling graffiti , sort of

seems like you discovered " Party Central " for every High School kid within 30 miles ....

daWg

 

[rhedden]

I remember the story of Centralia before it was evacuated. I grew up in NE PA and I got to see this disaster unfolding real-time in the 1980s. Basically, the locals decided to fill in their abandoned coal mines with truckloads of garbage, seemingly killing two birds with one stone, until both the garbage and the remaining coal seams caught on fire. I remember the news crew walking through the woods one night in the mid 1980s, and there were literally plumes of fire shooting up out of the ground in random places as burning gas escaped. The government eventually relocated everybody in a non-voluntary fashion.

I would hope the fires have died down, but I recall that they were estimated to burn for another 100 years at one point. Watch out for those fire-geysers while you're out digging!

 

[jeff of pa]

yes in the Late 90's Early 2000's it was not uncommon
to see fire Trucks busy trying to out'n Ground flairups .
Mainly in the S.W. Quadrant, Just north of the Cemetery.
if the dead could feel the Heat,
Some of those people must have definitely Thought they Went Down Instead of up When they Died

"watch Out ! Hot Foot "



Last time I hunted East of The Cemetery



Beside where the Church Stood.


I got Hot Feet just by Standing still for 5 Minutes.

Of course Churches tend to make me sweat

 

[T.C.]

Wow!! Interesting thread!!