Knoebels Flood of 2006, Elysburg PA

Only a few miles up the road from Knoebels ... The Centralia Mine Fire
Smoke rises out of the ground, the smell of sulfur is in the air, the ground collapses as homes are destroyed. Science fiction? Think again.

This is Centralia Pennsylvania, where a town was destroyed by a 44 year old mine fire.

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Knoebels Flood of 2006

On June 28th 2006 heavy rain caused the two streams running through the park to over-flow their banks. The resulting high water caused a lot of damage and left tons of debris behind. Knoebels quickly recovered and were open on July 1st, 2006, a mere 3 days after several feet of flood water damaged much of the park!

Knoebels and their History with Flooding
On June 22, 1972, the creeks that run through Knoebels overflowed six feet over their banks, swollen with heavy rains from Hurricane Agnes. The flood destroyed several cottages and damaged many other buildings including the park's roller rink. Work began on a new building but it was later decided that the original roller rink could be reused, and the new building under construction became the Haunted Mansion. The roller rink building was refloored and used as a skating rink until the mid 1980's when it was converted into the "Roaring Creek Saloon", which now hosts a concession stand, an arcade and free performances. To prove that the park had recovered from the flood, the "Haunted Mansion" dark ride was opened in 1973. The ride has been recognized as one of America's best dark rides by organizations such as Dark Ride and Funhouse Enthusiasts and The National Amusement Park Historical Association. The park again suffered major flooding in 1975, 1977, 1996, 2004 and 2006. It has recovered each time.

Photo Credits: Many of the photos below are from Lawrence A. Deklinski of Ranshaw, PA. An archive of his photos can be found here Others were received in several emails circulating the internet and are unknown as to who had snapped the photographs.