Pennsylvania Anthracite – Caleb Savage – A documentary photography project taking a close look at the coal communities of Northeast PA

The Beginning: Centralia

Centralia was the beginning of my fascination with Pennsylvania’s Anthracite Region.

In 2012, I traveled to Centralia to work on a documentary photography assignment during my spring break as a freshman photography student at NYU.

Barack Obama was gearing up for his second election

At eighteen years old, I was fascinated by American iconography and I got what I was looking for.

I’d heard of Centralia years before, did some research, and got in the car early on a cold March morning. I left my cell phone back home in Carversville and hit the highway in my Hyundai Elantra with a stack of mapquest printouts for guidance.

Driving northeast, the suburbs turned to farms which turned to industry as the counties passed: Bucks, Lehigh, Schuylkill, Columbia.

Locust Ridge Wind Farm viewed from Centralia (Digital)

A sign created by one of the last remaining residents protesting ongoing efforts to force out Centralia’s residents. In 2013, they won a lawsuit allowing them to remain in their homes for life, however the population has continued to decline. (Digital)

Panoramic view from Centralia’s “graffiti road,” the abandoned section of Pennsylvania Highway 61 that has been melted by the fire. The strip is frequented by local teenagers and tourists alike. It’s one of the most visible signs of the fire today. (Digital)

Active strip mining operations to the east are visible from Centralia (Digital)

Odd Fellows Cemetery, Centralia. The fire began in this vicinity before spreading underground. (Mamiya 7, medium format color negative film)

The stone structure in the background was the site of a time capsule, placed in Centralia in 1966 and designated to be opened in 2016. In a strange sequence of events, the time capsule was opened early in 2014. Its contents had severe water damage. (Bronica SQ, color negative film)

Demolition debris in Centralia. (Bronica SQ, color negative film)

Looking east from Centralia (Mamiya 7, Fuji Provia 100)

Downtown Centralia (Bronica SQ, color negative film)

Demolition debris, Centralia. (Bronica SQ, color negative film)

Approaching Centralia from Ashland. (Pentax ME Super, color negative film)

A visitor surveys Centralia’s martian landscape. (Bronica SQ, color negative film)

A couple from Connecticut arrive for a visit to Centralia. The Internet has prompted a dramatic spike in visitors to Centralia. (Bronica SQ, color negative film)

Big Mine Run Geyser

Dunking my phone in acid mine drainage at the Big Mine Run Geyser, also known as the Centralia Borehole. This drains a network of abandoned mine tunnels in the hills behind where I’m standing and discharges 9.83 million gallons of water per day. It contributes 17,453 lbs/day acid, along with 858 lbs/day iron and 46,453 lbs/day sulfate to Mahanoy Creek, which drains to the Susquehanna river and then on to the Chesapeake Bay. Mine pools— massive underground reservoirs of water which accumulate in mine tunnels— are a constant presence in the Coal Region. The water dissolves iron in the rocks and becomes acidic, getting its characteristic rust color. Thousands of boreholes, seepages and pumping stations such as this one drain into local watersheds, sending pollution hundreds of miles to the Chesapeake. But if the boreholes were plugged and the pumps shut down, the water would table would rise until all the basements of NEPA were flooded. The only solution is to treat the discharged water, no easy task when the outfall is measured in millions of gallons per day. A number of clever solutions have been devised to effectively treat the waste in perpetuity, but are costly to implement. Organizations like @epcamr are doing amazing work protecting Pennsylvania’s waterways and studying the problem. #coal #america #lookingatappalachia

A post shared by caleb (@calebsavagephoto) on Jun 4, 2018 at 6:38am PDT