Centralia was a mining town that ended up having an underground mine fire. The town was forced by the government to leave after a kid fell into a sink hole and died. The highway is the main attraction as it moved and cracked from the fire burning underneath. It is now covered in graffiti and based on the amount of people there when we were there, a moderate tourist attraction. More info with the links provided. It's the town Silent Hill was based on. We also found an abandoned and vandalized mobile home close to the old town church. That was actually my first exploration and what sparked my love for this hobby.

Update by fiso, Sept 2015

For anyone who enjoys this hobby, there is a lot more to see than one would believe at first blush. The beautiful church, wonderful yet private property, the cemetery and co-located coal miner museum, the sidewalks, stairs to nowhere, fire hydrants, the municipal building, the remaining residents (three families), the neighbouring communities (visit Ashland, please!) and their willingness to chat with "respectful" visitors, the kids and their rice burners who use the abandoned roads as a track (and who, quite properly, step aside when an SRT8 encroaches) and everything else. I was going to save this for my "200th" and was profoundly disappointed to see the effort I am "adding to". The highway, graffiti'd yes, was a great chance to talk to people about why they were there. The heaving is extraordinary. Bucket list...despite the fact it is all gone....it is all still there.

From Ashutosh_730:

Centralia is a self-municipal entity that is nearly a ghost town in Columbia County, Pennsylvania. Its population is said to have declined to 5 residents in 2017 making it the least populated municipality in Pennsylvania. The town which has been surrounded by Cunningham Township was claimed by the government in 1992 and the postal code ceased ten years later. The residents who still reside in the place accepted an agreement with the state and local officials permitting them to keep residing in Centralia until their deaths, after which their rights to property will be officially taken by the government. 

History of Centralia 

The land was owned by Robert Morris back in 1793 until the acclamation of his bankruptcy in 1798. The land was taken over by the bank of the United States. It was then purchased by Steven Girard for 30,000 US dollars together with other 68 tracts of East Morris. After buying he noticed that hard coal was abundant in the area leading him to sell the property to Locust Mountain Coal and Iron Company. A small community began as a village after a mining engineer migrated with his family to reside in the region.  A mine-run railroad was constructed in 1854 to transport the coal out of the valley after mining. From 1856 to 1863, there were only two mines in the small community but this later changed by 1865 as the town had a total of five well-established mines. A second railroad, Leigh and Mahoney's railroad was constructed to promote transport and markets in the area. By 1890, the town had expanded, having seven churches, five hotels, and a population of over 2700.

 Decline of Centralia 

After 37 years of production of anthracite coal, the quantity had begun diminishing. There was almost zero production when the US entered World War I. The Lehigh valley coal company shut down all the five local mines due to the Wall Street crash of 1929. Only a few mines kept on operating in the idle mines until the 1960s when most companies withdrew. The railroad services stopped in 1966 and by 1980 only 1012 residents were left. The town was set ablaze in 1990 with the intention of doing away with the town. The residents were prompted to relocate to other towns.

 State of the town today 

The government made sure that there was no other permanent structure standing in the town by the time they were done with it. Most of the town was destroyed leaving only burnt ruins all over the extensive piece of land. Currently, the town is open to the general public for visits and tours. Steam gasses from the Centralia mine and ditches that dominate the surface of the land can be hazardous.