Looking west. Cemetery on left; smouldering, venting ground on right.
I live a few hours east of Centralia, and would like to check it out. As far as I can tell there are a few buildings still standing, and a few holdouts still living there. I know there is at least one cemetery there as well; I wonder if people are able to visit.
I’ve stopped there, was on the overlook area, just abandoned - you can see the footprint from the homes that were there. There were a lot of vents putting out a nice aroma and a fair amount of heat
We live a couple of hours south of Centralia and have checked it out from time to time over the past 20 years. It used to be very dramatic, with eerie scifi plumes of smoke rising out of the wasteland of dead forest. Lately it hasn’t been that dramatic - only a puff here or there that looks like someone’s poorly-extinguished campfire. The ghost town is a haunting experience, though: empty town blocks with the occasional stand-alone rowhouse guarding pale memories of families long gone. And very, very quiet.
Yes..and there will be people visiting graves on Memorial Day, so if you get the chance to go then, you might meet them. One of my visits a few years ago encountered some families.
Don’t waste your time and fuel, there’s nothing to see. Looks like a ghost town, but largely no buildings (ie, no “town”). You can tell there was a community, the way you can tell there was once a house where an empty lot sits: sidewalks and entrance paths disappearing into the weeds. There’s no smoke I ever saw. Just lots of weeds and brush.
FWIW, the last time I talked with a local about it, maybe a year ago, they said what they always say, follow the money. Somebody wanted the land, somebody sold out, somebody holds out. Tales of endless corruption, make your head spin.
For $4/gal, I’d do Gettysburg, not Centralia.