Mt Carmel

Shame... for years it was empty but not vandalized. Not that we noticed anyway. Yes it was at the top of the town by the graveyard on Rt 61. Some kids had scribbled a sign on the cemetery that said " The Centralia Mine fire is our fate ". I snapped a pic of it for posterity. However, they must have moved the cemetery towards Mt. Carmel ( west ) a couple hundred yards away.

It would be real interesting if a TV network did a follow up on the town past and present, inhabitants, pics, etc... instead of some of the garbage TV.

If we are talking about the same place, the cemetery is still there. I think it is called St. Ignatious. The gates are still there and somebody still mows the grass. Right down the road from there is a road that takes you right back to the fire. You can drive to it without restriction. You can't see any smoke or steam anymore. If you get out the car and walk, you can smell the sulpher and you can feel the heat coming out of some spots of the ground. They ride 4 wheelers and motorcycles back there now.

Didn't know the name of the cemetery, thanks for the info. I've seen the old/new cemetery and went thru the gates a few years ago. I think a new update on the town is long overdue. There's a line in a bluegrass song about " the flames of hell danced round my bed and in my eyes did see ".. The flames of hell were certainly in plain view for a number of years when the fire was at its peak. I still can't believe they waited as long as they did before they closed Rt 61. The road was sinking and the fire burning thru the ground right off the road.. And I mean w/in a few feet of the road. And you looked down and saw the fire and brimstone if you believe in that sort of thing. I'm surprised some movie moguls never made a picture about it like they did " The Molly Maguires " in Jim Thorpe. Sean Connery played the lead role. The only part they left out was the infamous " Hand on the wall " which I saw personally when it was still the county prison. But that's another story..

I don't know if you are on facebook or not. If you are type in Centralia Lives. You will see all about the town. There are a lot of old pictures on there. If you scroll down far enough, you will see the church you are talking about. It's a white one with three doors, next to it is the cemetery.