I had some good fortune last week exploring in one of my favorite places -its more of a union of mill villages than a city, but that makes it all the more interesting. Situated at the confluence of two heavily industrialized rivers, there was a lot of waterpower on hand, although I'm yet to find any turbines.

My first day out, I crossed one of the rivers on foot because I wanted to approach this first mill from the back. Its much easier walking in from the front, but its also along a busy road and I like the peace of mind. On the first crossing, I managed to keep everything above my knees dry. On the way back, I was soaked.

The main building was built for the manufacture of textiles during the last years of WWI and features the classic saw tooth roof design common in weave sheds built before 1920. Its nice to see one in good shape for once. The first two photos here were taken from the street a couple days after my swim.

1. In the 1960's, the building was converted for use as an office and R&D lab for a major manufacturer of plastic containers. Here you can see the retrofit siding peeling away.



2. The saw-tooth ridges are visible here behind the elevator tower.



3. Inside



4. The front part of the mill was always meant to house offices. You can see the original wainscotting here hiding under mid-century retrofits up near the roof line.



5. Hallway



6. The Other Hallway



7. As I was walking back through the woods toward the river I stumbled upon a large pile of assorted casings and shells. I didn't stay long because I didn't want to meet the owner of this backwoods firing range.



8. Yosemite Sam



9. Yet another set of ruins during my third day of adventuring. I fell in the river again taking this picture, or rather, I dropped my lens cap in the river and jumped after it.



10. Having dried off a little bit, I headed back into town to take a shot at this beautiful office building, which served as an administrative center for a nearby mill. It was sealed up tight only in the last couple of days, but nice to look at!



11. Even drier than before, I felt emboldened to head further down river to check out this carriage repair shop, later used as a machine shop. It was quite the time capsule as it turns out.



12. Top floor



13. Division



14. Boarded



15. 'Friday Agust 28, 1908'



16. Front office



17. Storage



18. Having some daylight and only a little energy left, I paid a brief visit to this enormous abandoned bank. There was a lot more to see than the first couple of floors, but that's all I got!



19.



20. Mantel



21. Back downstairs to the basement, up a ladder, up a wall and I'm out!







Thanks for looking!!



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GREAT STUFF!

Really cool, and nice variety.

Wow, busy days! Next time maybe you should pack a towel with all that water! \

Great photos though. #7 and #8 are definitely what you don't want to run into when exploring.

Are #18-21 the building that then housed the DMV?

What a coincidence, I check UER for the first time in a long while and that first mill is a place I visited just last weekend. I've got a couple points of interest in that area, wished I had time for more than a quick stop at the end of the day on my way through.
Can't believe you fell in that river, lol, it smelled pretty rank over there. I took the easy way along the bank under the bridge. (but I made up for it by taking the hard way into the mill )

If you need a turbine fix, there's one still existing at the restored mill complex (which is now apartments) directly west.

That carriage shop is my favorite of these, pics 13 and 16 are my picks of the set. Love that writing from 1908.

Posted by C. Enzo What a coincidence, I check UER for the first time in a long while and that first mill is a place I visited just last weekend. I've got a couple points of interest in that area, wished I had time for more than a quick stop at the end of the day on my way through.

Didn't I tell ya? I have an algorithm that tells me when you're going to explore somewhere so I can get the jump on you. Or something like that... its a cool spot even if its empty. Word is that little brick building next to it started out as a wheelhouse, but there's no sign of any hydro equipment. Go figure! I'll definitely check out that turbine you mentioned though.