Centralia is a borough in Columbia County, Pennsylvania.
1920 census 3,336
Its population has dwindled from over 1,000 residents in 1981 to 12 in
2005 and 9 in 2007 as a result of a 46-year-old mine fire burning
beneath the borough. Centralia is now the least-populous municipality
in Pennsylvania
{Now A Ghost Town}
In its prime, Centralia was a vibrant community with five hotels, seven
churches, nineteen general stores, two jewelry stores, and about
twenty-six saloons. Today it is a modern ghost town whose guts have
been burned out, and whose main path of ingress has been closed
and detoured. Residents are expected to return in 2016 to open a time
capsule which was buried in the town in 1966, back when the
town's future was still somewhat optimistic. Its future now is decidedly
more grim… There are currently no further plans to extinguish the
fire, and most modern maps no longer show a dot where Centralia
once stood.
1920 census 3,336
Its population has dwindled from over 1,000 residents in 1981 to 12 in
2005 and 9 in 2007 as a result of a 46-year-old mine fire burning
beneath the borough. Centralia is now the least-populous municipality
in Pennsylvania
{Now A Ghost Town}
In its prime, Centralia was a vibrant community with five hotels, seven
churches, nineteen general stores, two jewelry stores, and about
twenty-six saloons. Today it is a modern ghost town whose guts have
been burned out, and whose main path of ingress has been closed
and detoured. Residents are expected to return in 2016 to open a time
capsule which was buried in the town in 1966, back when the
town's future was still somewhat optimistic. Its future now is decidedly
more grim… There are currently no further plans to extinguish the
fire, and most modern maps no longer show a dot where Centralia
once stood.
| Pennsylvania, Centralia Gwinners Pharmacy C1002-C2-1 This is one of the scarcest towns to obtain for a collection of this state. $40.00 |
1900 United States Federal Census about
John M Gwinner
Name: John M Gwinner
Age: 42
Birth Date: Oct 1857
Birthplace: Pennsylvania
Home in 1900: Centralia, Columbia,
Pennsylvania
Race: White
Gender: Male
Relation to Head of House: Head
Marital Status: Single
Father's Birthplace: Germany
Mother's Birthplace: Germany
Occupation: Physician
Household Members:
Name Age
John M Gwinner 42
Emma E Gwinner 34
Charles W Gwinner 12
Annie Head 32
Ann J Michaels 14
John M Gwinner
Name: John M Gwinner
Age: 42
Birth Date: Oct 1857
Birthplace: Pennsylvania
Home in 1900: Centralia, Columbia,
Pennsylvania
Race: White
Gender: Male
Relation to Head of House: Head
Marital Status: Single
Father's Birthplace: Germany
Mother's Birthplace: Germany
Occupation: Physician
Household Members:
Name Age
John M Gwinner 42
Emma E Gwinner 34
Charles W Gwinner 12
Annie Head 32
Ann J Michaels 14
1880 United States Federal Census about
John Gwinner
Name: John Gwinner
Age: 22
Birth Year: abt 1858
Birthplace: Pennsylvania
Home in 1880: Saint Clair, Schuylkill,
Pennsylvania
Race: White
Gender: Male
Relation to Head of House: Son
Marital Status: Single
Father's Birthplace: Baden
Mother's Name: Mary Gwinner
Mother's Birthplace: Wurtemburg
Neighbors: View others on page
Occupation: Studying Medicine
Household Members:
Name Age
Mary Gwinner 56
George Gwinner 24
John Gwinner 22
Carrie Gwinner 20
Emmie Gwinner 14
William Gwinner 13
Jacob Brown 20
Mary Scanlon 24
John Gwinner
Name: John Gwinner
Age: 22
Birth Year: abt 1858
Birthplace: Pennsylvania
Home in 1880: Saint Clair, Schuylkill,
Pennsylvania
Race: White
Gender: Male
Relation to Head of House: Son
Marital Status: Single
Father's Birthplace: Baden
Mother's Name: Mary Gwinner
Mother's Birthplace: Wurtemburg
Neighbors: View others on page
Occupation: Studying Medicine
Household Members:
Name Age
Mary Gwinner 56
George Gwinner 24
John Gwinner 22
Carrie Gwinner 20
Emmie Gwinner 14
William Gwinner 13
Jacob Brown 20
Mary Scanlon 24
| On May 27, 1962 the fire department set the towns landfill ablize, in an ill-fatted attempt to tidy up for Memorial Day. |
