Drive into the hills of eastern Pennsylvania to the spot where Centralia used to be, and you’ll find something that shouldn’t exist: a town-shaped emptiness. Streets laid out in a neat grid, with ...

This timeline chronicles key events in Centralia’s strange, 175-year journey from thriving coal town to America’s mine-fire ...

Centralia, Pennsylvania once boasted 14 active coal mines and 2,500 residents in the early 20th century. But by the 1960s, its boomtown heyday had passed and most of its mines were abandoned. Still, ...

Nearly 20 years after a mine fire ignited under Centralia, Pa., residents who still lived in the town had a dilemma on their hands: should they take a $25 million federal buyout or try to dig up part ...