Guest, Sign inJoin
History · Centralia · established 1841

Centralia’s history is mostly unwritten

The public archives hold only 4 old photos of Centralia. The rest are in attics, shoeboxes and the historical society. Help start the collection.

1841established
4old photos & papers
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Centralia’s archive · credits on each photo

What stands out about Centralia’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 4 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Deep rootsEstablished in 1841: 185 years of Centralia.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Centralia’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Centralia’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
3 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewFire Caused Woman's Death at Centralia …: stand where they stood+15 Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Timeline

Centralia, 1841 to 1971

Woven from the archive, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1841
    FoundingCentralia is established
  3. 1898Born hereCharlie Douse is born here
  4. 1899Born hereJohn Chapman is born here
  5. 20th century
  6. 1905Born hereRoscoe Charles Wilson is born here
  7. 1916In the archiveFire Caused Woman's Death at Centralia in the Mount Carmel Item of Mount Carmel, Pennsylv…
  8. 1935In the archiveEllen Douse (1826-1935) in the Mount Carmel Item of Mount Carmel, Pennsylvania on April 3…
  9. 1971In the archiveCentralia PA in 1971
The story

How Centralia came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Centralia.

Read it all →

Several Native American tribes in what is now Columbia County sold much of the land in Northeastern Pennsylvania, including the Centralia valley, to colonial agents in 1749 for £500. In 1770, during the construction of the Reading Road, which stretched from Reading to Fort Augusta (present-day Sunbury), settlers surveyed and explored the land. A large portion of the Reading Road was developed later as Route 61, the main highway east into and south out of Centralia.

ChaptersEarly historyMining beginsMine fireCondemnation and abandonmentTime capsule

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Centralia, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1910s to the 1970s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s–1930s3 items
Fire Caused Woman's Death at Centralia in the Mount Carmel Item of Mount Carmel, Pennsylvania on January 22, 19161916Fire Caused Woman's Death at Centralia in the Mount C… Mrs. E. Douse in the Mount Carmel Item of Mount Carmel, Pennsylvania on January 22, 19161916Mrs. E. Douse in the Mount Carmel Item of Mount Carme… Ellen Douse (1826-1935) in the Mount Carmel Item of Mount Carmel, Pennsylvania on April 30, 19351935Ellen Douse (1826-1935) in the Mount Carmel Item of M…
1940s–1960snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
1970s1 item
Centralia PA in 19711971Centralia PA in 1971
1980s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today2 recent
Centralia, Pennsylvania (ASTER)2003Centralia, Pennsylvania (ASTER) Centralia bench2001Centralia bench
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Fire Caused Woman's Death at Centralia in the Mount Carmel Item of Mount Carmel, Pennsylvania on January 22, 1916
Retake this viewFire Caused Woman's Death at Centralia in the Mount Carmel Item of Mount Carmel, Pennsylvania on January 22, 1916, 1916

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Centralia’s page.

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

3 famous people were born in Centralia

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
J
John ChapmanAmerican baseball player · b. 1899
Roscoe Charles WilsonAmerican officer · b. 1905
Charlie Douseb. 1898

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Weigh in
Has Centralia changed for the better?

Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.

Start a conversation

From Wikimedia Commons (6), Wikipedia and Wikidata for famous people. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.

Post to Centralia

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in