I've driven through the area at night a few times, and the glow from the fires peeping through holes in the ground is eerie to say the least. Though it is quite close (about an hour from home), I've never really delved into the history - something to put on the bucket list.

This recent BBC documentary is of interest too. I leave it to you to decide what you make of the views of the 'holdouts'.

Hi Pembroke

Many thanks for the links.....I will certainly check them out. Meanwhile I will set up the gmail collab doc we discussed some time this week. Things will be a little slow at first because we have 5 weeks of frantic preparation for the West Coast Eisteddfod ahead of us BUT we will get in to full swing soon after that.

Diolch

Ceri

HI Ceri,

Good to meet you in Scranton.

I have also been intrigued by the Molly Maguires. If you ever get back to PA you must visit the town called Jim Thorpe. That is where many of them were jailed and hung. I visited this museum in the old jail two years ago. It was as spooky as the web sites below indicate. So interesting to learn the histories of my proletariat Celtic-kin.

http://theoldjailmuseum.com/ghosts.html Molly Maguires are still haunting PA

http://www.weirdus.com/states/pennsylvania/unexplained_phenomena/carbon_county_jail_handprint/index.php Mysterious Handprint of and innocent accused

Hi Fiona

Many thanks for commenting. I must admit I was not aware of the Rea case although anything to do with the Molly Maguires fascinates me. I found a few links and will research the case further http://library.bloomu.edu/Archives/SC/MollieMaguires/mollieindex.htm Perhaps you can suggest some alternative sources?

I am reading The Day The Earth Caved In at the moment. It is always tempting ( and so much more satisfying ) when reading or writing about a disaster like this to be able to point a finger at an easily identifiable culprit. But it seems that in the case of the Centralia fire there is no clear villain.It appears that it was a terrible and tragic mess the worst effects of which might have been mitigated if culpability and a consequent source of disaster funding had been established in a timely fashion. What is not entirely clear is who should have paid , when and precisely how much. Would you agree or am I being naive?

p.s. Do you know, or is there any way of establishing, what percentage of the population were of Welsh heritage?

Ceri,

I wish i'd known of your interest in going to Centralia! I've been trolling it's history for the past 20 years, on and off. When I first came to America, I drove through Centralia to visit a friend, and became fascinated by it's story. It was still inhabited a little then, and there was still one church (although de-consecrated). Centralia has an interesting history, most particularly the story of the murder of Alexander Rea, Supposedly by the Mollies. (Although his great grandson Alec always said that he didn't think Rea's murder was political, but a purely bumbled attempt at robbery).

Very droll

One of the people we asked for directions was a kid in Centralia when the federal government finally tore down the town and got the people out. First we drove through, looking for it, then we realized that we were dring past block obscured by vegetation, sidewalks, spaces where houses and driveways used to be, all reclaimed by trees and underbrush.

Some of the pix are from a coal mine tour in Ashland, the town next over from Centralia. There's exhibits outside on Centralia and the disaster, a gift shop where we got the book, and a tour of the mine, which wasn't happening when we were there but it was interesting and I'd love to go back and do the tour: http://www.pioneertunnel.com/home.shtml