Abandoned Mill (URBEX-My Favorite!!)

[stsinner]

Enjoy-200 pictures. Click on the Slideshow button and sit back.

I love abandoned places and to think about everyone who, not only built it and put blood, sweat and tears into its creation, but also the people who went there every day and punched a clock to earn a meager living..

I also pause and reflect on the owners' decision to never call any workers back to the buildings and how that must have sat with the workers-how they were notified that they no longer had a livelihood, etc.. Remember that back when this mill was in operation people pretty much had one specialty that they performed.. Just look at the brick work that the masons did.. It's gorgeous and so far beyond anything you'd find in construction today.

http://picasaweb.google.com/bradleys88/GlenallenMill1108#

 

[Ron Evers]

May I suggest you post one or two & provide a link to the rest. I and I expect others, do not respond well to links only.

 

[austriker]

not bad, really too many for me to look at.. you should pick a few artsy photos and post em up here

 

[stsinner]

May I suggest you post one or two & provide a link to the rest. I and I expect others, do not respond well to links only.

Well, Ron, I really didn't practice any photography techniques here, other than simply taking pictures and having my SB600 mounted. I salivate over the opportunity to take Urban Exploration pictures of abandoned sites, and this was one great opportunity, as I also got pictures of a long-deteriorated dam and spillway that was constructed to power this mill.. You can still clearly see the stone walls that were built in the 1800's before machinery back when men were still men and not cubicle dwellers.. Each one of the stones must weigh hundreds of pounds, and there's an entire dam built of them.. If you want a taste of the pictures, then here you go:

 

[Ron Evers]

Now ST, that can inspire one to look further.

Curious, why a satellite dish @ an old abandoned mill.

 

[stsinner]

Now ST, that can inspire one to look further.

Curious, why a satellite dish @ an old abandoned mill.

It is a curious situation... What's going on here is that you've got a house on the premesis that one can only assume was the caretaker's residence, as it has a sign mounted on the door facing the mill (which is the rear of the house) which says, "Residence." I would assume that this mill was in operation in the late 1800's and early 1900's and employed many immigrant workers, who weren't treated the best back then... It was common back then in America to build houses around a mill to house the workers, but this mill doesn't seem to have any such housing.. It's surrounded by cemeteries and new construction. In fact, in order to gain access to the old dam which I took photos here, I had to drive into a new housing development and avail myself of an easement that a friend of mine (developer) has between two houses to access the river to take the pictures I took, as it's across the river from the mill..

Here is a picture of the house that is 90 degrees to the right of that satellite dish from where I took the picture. The residence was obviously inhabited recently, but it now sits abandoned, along with the mill, and a for sale sign adorns the lawn out by the road.. Errily enough, this mill sits directly behind this house and between the house and a river that used to power the water wheels that turned the machinery in the mill.. Oh, how I love this old stuff. I don't think I could live in a house 20 yards from this hulking homeless shelter....

Obviously, the house has been rented long after the mill has been abandoned. Here is a Google Earth image illustrating how the house is just before the mill on its private road, and how they're both hidden behind HEAVY tree cover. I made a small circle where the satellite dish is, and I've circled the residence.. You can see for yourself where the mill is in comparison to the house, the highway and the river.. You wouldn't even know this old mill is there if you weren't the curious type.. Obviously, due to the heave tree canopy, the latest and now gone inhabitants of the house had the satellite dish installers put the dish where it would be most able to receive the signal from the satellite.. The home and the mill are on the same land.

 

[stsinner]

I just added 49 new pictures, mainly of the basement, showing the extreme dilapidation and caved-in first floor.

Here's an example:

And a little bit of an artsy one:

 

[ANDS!]

Are you just taking pictures to take pictures or trying to tell a story here?

 

[stsinner]

Are you just taking pictures to take pictures or trying to tell a story here?

In this case, just documenting a piece of history so that I have a record of it after it's eventually torn down. I know that many people like exploring these types of sites, so I just thought I'd share my pictures. I just happen to find it very interesting.

 

[Ron Evers]

In this case, just documenting a piece of history so that I have a record of it after it's eventually torn down. I know that many people like exploring these types of sites, so I just thought I'd share my pictures. I just happen to find it very interesting.

Technical issues aside they are an interesting study. Perhaps you will get another chance to do more serious photos.

The buildings look substantial on the exterior & very stately.

 

[stsinner]

I learned yesterday that the big hole in the floor of the first story was caused by a fire that weakened the structure.