In the mid-1800

in the mid-800 mines were being

in the mid-800's mines were being opened all over the coal-rich hills of Pennsylvania.

The demand for coal power from the East Coast was ever growing.

These mines built towns all through this coal region.

Centralia, Pennsylvania was one such small town.

Things had changed there in the hundred years since the first coal mine had opened.

In the 1960s there were about 1,200 people that lived there.

They had shops and a good local economy,

and had left their rough pass behind that was so common among small mining towns.

Back then, the area was so rich in coal that some of the coal came near to the surface.

Ironically, it was the city council that ended up making the decision that would cause the town of

Centralia to become a ghost town.

The city council proposed a cleanup of the town landfill

in time for the Memorial Day festivities.

Their method of cleaning up the landfill was to burn it in big piles of trash.

Un knowingly, the landfill sat right on top of a coal seam that was connected to 25 million tons of underground coal.

The fires spread into the ground, into the mine tunnels, and all through the city. In spite of their best efforts, the fire has

never been extinguished. Over time, the temperatures of the ground grew.

It started with abnormally warm winter temperatures.

Residents didn't have to shovel their sidewalks.

They were even able to grow tomatoes in the late winter.

...