Byrnesville was a town located in Conyngham Township, Columbia County, Pennsylvania, United States. It was located about halfway between Centralia and Ashland. In 1985, the population of Byrnesville was approximately 75 people living in 29 homes. [1]
Byrnesville was founded in 1856. [2] Most of the residents were Irish Catholics who worked in the local anthracite coal mines. It was made up of Upper and Lower Byrnesville. The first homes were built in Lower Byrnesville around 1856 and in Upper Byrnesville around 1865. An elementary school was located in Byrnesville but was discontinued in the 1930s. [1]
Byrnesville was one of the casualties of the Centralia mine fire. In late 1983, the 98th United States Congress approved $42 million to help move families impacted by the fire. Relocation offers were extended to residents in Byrnesville and Centralia. [3] The last home in Byrnesville was torn down in 1996, which spelled the end for the town. The only remaining structures there as of July 2019 are a religious Shrine to the Blessed Virgin Mary on a hillside by the side of Route 61, [2] an intermodal container, and the structural remains of a garage now reclaimed by nature. [4]
The present-day routing of Pennsylvania Route 61 follows the two-lane Byrnesville Road — originally an old logging road through Byrnesville — bypassing a 0.75-mile (1.21 km) long section of the original route of the four-lane highway which has been heavily damaged by subsidence caused by the underground fire. [5]
Schuylkill County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 143,049. The county seat is Pottsville. The county is part of the Northeast Pennsylvania region of the state.
Catawissa is a borough in Columbia County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of the Susquehanna Valley in Pennsylvania. The population was 1,539 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Bloomsburg-Berwick micropolitan area.
Centralia is a borough and near-ghost town in Columbia County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of Northeastern Pennsylvania. Its population declined from 1,000 in 1980 to five residents in 2020 because a coal mine fire has been burning beneath the borough since 1962. Centralia, part of the Bloomsburg–Berwick metropolitan area, is the least-populated municipality in Pennsylvania. It is completely surrounded by Conyngham Township.
Conyngham Township is a township in Columbia County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of Northeastern Pennsylvania. The population was 689 at the 2020 census. Conyngham Township surrounds the famous borough of Centralia, and part of the mine fire is located here. The abandoned town of Byrnesville is located here.
Hazle Township is a township in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 10,150 at the time of the 2020 census. The township surrounds the city of Hazleton and the borough of West Hazleton.
West Conshohocken is a borough in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,320 at the 2010 census.
Mount Carmel is a borough in Northumberland County, located in the Coal Heritage Region of Central Pennsylvania's Susquehanna River Valley, United States. The population was 5,725 at the 2020 census. It is located 88 miles (141 km) northwest of Philadelphia and 71 miles (114 km) northeast of Harrisburg, in the Coal Region. It is completely encircled by Mount Carmel Township.
Coaldale is a borough in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, United States. Initially settled in 1827, it was incorporated in 1906 from part of the former Rahn Township; it is named for the coal industry—wherein, it was one of the principal early mining centers. Coaldale is in the southern Anthracite Coal region in the Panther Creek Valley, a tributary of the Little Schuylkill River, along which U.S. Route 209 was eventually built between the steep climb up Pisgah Mountain from Nesquehoning (easterly) and its outlet in Tamaqua, approximately five miles to the west.
Ashland is a borough in Schuylkill County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, 15 miles (24 km) northwest of Pottsville. It is part of Northeastern Pennsylvania. A small part of the borough also lies in Columbia County, although all of the population resided in the Schuylkill County portion as of the 2020 census. The borough lies in the anthracite coal region of eastern Pennsylvania. Settled in 1850, Ashland was incorporated in 1857, and was named for Henry Clay's estate near Lexington, Kentucky. The population in 1900 was 6,438, and in 1940, 7,045, but had dropped to 2,471 at the 2020 census.
Pennsylvania Route 61 is an 81.8-mile-long (131.6 km) state highway that is located in Pennsylvania in the United States. The route is signed on a north–south direction, running from U.S. Route 222 Business in Reading northwest to US 11/US 15/PA 147 in Shamokin Dam.
Pennsylvania Route 54 is a state highway which runs for 82 miles (132 km) in eastern Pennsylvania in the United States.
Pennsylvania Route 42 is a 58.6-mile-long (94.3 km) state route that is located in central Pennsylvania. The southern terminus of the route is situated at PA 61 in Centralia. The northern terminus is located at U.S. Route 220 in Laporte.
Pennsylvania Route 29 is a 118-mile-long (190 km) north–south state highway that runs through most of eastern Pennsylvania.
Pennsylvania Route 663 (PA 663) is a 22.13-mile-long (35.61 km) state highway in Montgomery and Bucks counties in southeast Pennsylvania. Its southern terminus is at PA 100 in the borough of Pottstown and its northern terminus is at PA 309 and PA 313 in the borough of Quakertown, where the road continues eastward as PA 313. Along the way, PA 663 also passes through the borough of Pennsburg. It is called John Fries Highway between Pennsburg and Quakertown. It has an interchange with Interstate 476 at exit 44 west of Quakertown. The route was assigned in 1930, and it has had several realignments since its commissioning, including two major ones.
The Centralia mine fire is a coal-seam fire which has been burning in the labyrinth of abandoned coal mines underneath the borough of Centralia, Pennsylvania, United States, since at least May 27, 1962. Its original cause and start date are still a matter of debate. It is burning at depths of up to 300 ft (90 m) over an 8 mi (13 km) stretch of 3,700 acres (15 km2). At its current rate, it could continue to burn for over 250 years. Due to the fire, Centralia was mostly abandoned in the 1980s. There were 1,500 residents at the time the fire is believed to have started, but as of 2017 Centralia has a population of 5 and most of the buildings have been demolished.
Pennsylvania Route 232 (PA 232) is a 25.2-mile-long (40.6 km) state highway located in southeastern Pennsylvania. The southern terminus of the route is at U.S. Route 1 (US 1)/US 13 at the Oxford Circle in Philadelphia. The northern terminus is at PA 32 in the borough of New Hope, Bucks County, on the banks of the Delaware River. The route passes through the urban areas of Northeast Philadelphia as Oxford Avenue, serving the Lawncrest, Burholme, and Fox Chase neighborhoods. Upon entering Montgomery County, PA 232 becomes Huntingdon Pike and through suburban areas, serving the communities of Rockledge, Huntingdon Valley, and Bryn Athyn. The route passes through more suburban development in Bucks County as Second Street Pike, running through Southampton and Richboro. In Wrightstown Township, PA 232 enters rural areas and becomes Windy Bush Road as it heads north to New Hope.
Pennsylvania Route 924 is a 22-mile-long (35 km) state highway in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The highway runs from PA 61 in Frackville, Schuylkill County, northeast to PA 309 in Hazleton, Luzerne County. PA 924 runs through rural areas in the Coal Region, serving Gilberton, Shenandoah, Brandonville, and West Hazleton. The route is mostly a two-lane road with the section between Frackville and Shenandoah a four-lane divided highway with an interchange serving Gilberton and another four-lane divided highway section to the west of Hazleton. PA 924 intersects PA 54 in Shenandoah, PA 339 in Brandonville, Interstate 81 (I-81) west of Hazleton, and PA 93 in West Hazleton.
Solomon Creek is a tributary of the Susquehanna River in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is approximately 8.8 miles (14.2 km) long and flows through Fairview Township, Hanover Township, and Wilkes-Barre. The creek is affected by acid mine drainage and has significant loads of iron, aluminum, and manganese. The creek's named tributaries are Spring Run, Sugar Notch Run, and Pine Creek. The Solomon Creek watershed is located in the Anthracite Valley section of the ridge-and-valley geographical province. Major rock formations in the watershed include the Mauch Chunk Formation, the Spechty Kopf Formation, and the Catskill Formation.
The Laurel Run mine fire is an underground mine fire near the communities of Laurel Run and Georgetown, in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. The fire started burning in 1915 at the Red Ash Coal Mine. Attempts to control it lasted from 1915 to 1957 and recommenced in 1966. In the 1960s, the United States government and the Pennsylvania state government became involved in containing the fire. Attempts at stopping the spread of the fire were erroneously declared successful in 1973, and the fire is still burning.
The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Ukrainian Catholic Church is a Ukrainian Catholic church in the town of Centralia, Pennsylvania. The church is the last remaining church in Centralia, which was largely abandoned after a mine fire rendered much of the town unsafe.