History of the Village of Central, PA
VILLAGE OF CENTRAL, PA
The Village of Central, along with Jamison City and Elk Grove, Pennsylvania, was formed at the northern terminus of the Bloomsburg and Sullivan Railroad (also known as the B&S). In 1889, Central, Jamison City and Elk Grove areas were bustling. The first freight on the Bloomsburg and Sullivan Railroad was shipped on June 21, 1887, from
Bloomsburg to Lightstreet. The first passenger train on the railroad ran in September 1887. By November 1888, lumber was being regularly shipped via the Bloomsburg and Sullivan Railroad from Jamison City to the east coast of the United States. By 1915, six passenger trains and several freight trains were running on the railroad each day, although there was more traffic on the railroad in the years before that.[7]
In 1904, the Bloomsburg and Sullivan Railroad was the only railroad that remained operational during the third flood of the Susquehanna Valley of that year.[10]
In 1912, a sawmill in Jamison City went out of business, which was the event that started the decline of the Bloomsburg and Sullivan Railroad, and a tannery going out of business in Jamison City in 1925 furthered the railroad's decline.[7] Eventually, railroad service north of Benton stopped, and in 1925, the tracks in Jamison City were removed, because Jamison City's lumber and tanning industries had faltered.[8] The Bloomsburg and Sullivan railroad went bankrupt in 1928 and was auctioned to the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad the same year.[3][11] Scheduled passenger trains along the railroad to Benton ceased in 1930. The last passenger train carrying a large number of passengers along the Bloomsburg and Sullivan Railroad to Benton was in 1934. Freight service to Benton along the Bloomsburg and Sullivan Railroad ceased in 1969, when a flash flood severely damaged much of the railroad, and the tracks from Lighstreet to Benton were removed. The railroad tracks in Bloomsburg were removed in 1971, following the re-pavement of 5th Street. However, service from Bloomsburg to Lightstreet continued until Hurricane Agnes in 1972.[5]
Today, our area is home to people who are always there to lend a helping hand to a neighbor and friend. From our full time residents to our part-time ‘cabin residents’ who come to hunt, fish, play or just get away from the hustle and bustle.... The Village of Central is a “Small Piece Of Heaven On Earth”. References
[3] Ballie, William M. Discovering Bloomsburg. pp. 77–82
[5] Jim Laubach, The Reading Railroad, retrieved 19 February 2013
[7] McKenzie, Nathan M. (2007), Bloomsburg & Sullivan Railroad Tour, retrieved 19 February 2013
[8] McKenzie, Nathan (1975), Bloomsburg and Sullivan Railroad, retrieved 19 February 2013
[10] J. Beers (1915), Historical and Biographical Annals of Columbia and Montour Counties...,
[11] J. Beers (1915), Historical and Biographical Annals of Columbia and Montour Counties..., retrieved 16 February 2014
