kokopelle | Entries tagged with industrial

I have a fascination with tunnels. Unfortunately I live in an area that is short on appreciable underground/tunnel locations. I found the next best thing at the largely demolished Laurens Mill in Laurens SC. An underground storage room remained in an area that seems to have been the mechanical section of the building. A boiler and pressure vessels are nearby. The really amazing thing about this room is that there are still metal bits and pieces on the shelves and hanging on the walls. It makes one wonder what other things were bulldozed under in the two adjacent storage rooms. One of them did have one of the original windows, bricked over at some point in the past and now revealed in ruins of the building. Neat stuff...

Looking Out of the Equipment 'Cave' Room

Looking into Equipment 'Cave' Room

Click on an image to see a larger picture

( More Pictures of the Room... )

Current Mood: contemplative

Located at the corner of Easley Bridge Road and Traction Street, this abandoned factory has been partially demolished and stands as a mute reminder of the area's industrial past. I've researched the property on the internet and could not find the name of the company previously at the location. Sometimes this is the frustration of using the internet. Recent news is a the tips of one's fingers, but historical information is often lacking on this modern information service.

Metal Stairs, Sans all the Steps!

Original Factory Windows

Click on a Image to See a Larger Picture

( More Pictures from the Traction Street Industrial Site.... )

Current Mood: contemplative

On 1/27/08 my mate and I revisited Laurens Mill. Some old areas were explored and new areas were discovered. This blog entry focuses on an underground parts room that has survived the massive razing of the structure. There were at least two other similar rooms that had been collapsed, burying their industrial treasures underneath bricks and debris.

All 228 pictures of the revisited Laurens Mill are in this flickr set.



Top: General Area Around Underground Room. Bottom: Entrance to Underground Room

Click on picture to see more larger image

( Views of the underground room... )

Current Mood: awake

This blog focuses on the very historical ruins of Pelham Mills in Greer SC. From http://www.nationalregister.sc.gov/greenville/S10817723037/index.htm :

The archaeological significance of the site of the twentieth century Pelham Mills factory and its nineteenth century precedents is that this resource embodies physical evidence of the birth and growth of the piedmont textile industry, which has been one of the major shapers of South Carolina’s present economic, social, demographic, and landscape character. The ruins of Pelham Mills was listed in the National Register November 19, 1987.

All 123 pictures of the Pelham office,dam ruins, and the dam are in this flickr set.

View of brick pilings which supported the water turbine-driven shaft(s) that powered the mill’s spinning machinery; the foundation enclosed turbine area and corner wall of the mill’s main powerhouse. On the far left is the stone foundation. The brush is being burned off around the ruins. This picture was taken from the top of the dam.

Click on picture to see more larger image

( More pictures of mill ruins... )

Current Mood: contemplative

This blog focuses on the very historical Pelham Mill dam in Greer SC. From http://www.nationalregister.sc.gov/greenville/S10817723037/index.htm :

The archaeological significance of the site of the twentieth century Pelham Mills factory and its nineteenth century precedents is that this resource embodies physical evidence of the birth and growth of the piedmont textile industry, which has been one of the major shapers of South Carolina’s present economic, social, demographic, and landscape character. The ruins of Pelham Mills and its precedents are the remnants of a cotton factory which operated under several different owners from 1820 to 1935 on the Enoree River. The ruins describe a complex series of stone and brick foundations which span a floodplain, rock shoals, and terrace overlooking the river. In addition to the foundations, which are both free-standing and incorporated into local landforms, the site includes the bases of two steam smokestacks and a number of ditches and depressions associated originally with underground pipes, drains, and turbines at the cotton factory; nine brick pilings which supported the water turbine-driven shaft(s) that powered the mill’s spinning machinery; the foundation enclosed turbine area and corner wall of the mill’s main powerhouse; a large, cement slab floor and vat associated with the mill’s main steam generator; a large mortared stone dam with six sluice gates, spanning the Enoree River; and a channelized stream with stone-reinforced sides. Listed in the National Register November 19, 1987.

I will post present day pictures of the described ruins in another blog. All 123 pictures of the Pelham office,dam ruins, and the dam are in this flickr set.

Click on picture to see more larger image

( Pictures of front and rear of dam... )

Current Mood: contemplative

Relocated Pelham Mill office is adjacent to the historical stonework dam built in the 19th century. Western Carolina Regional Sewer Authority took an active role in preserving a historical landmark in the Upstate. On September 11, 2002, historic Pelham Mill office building was moved onto land leased by Western Carolina to the County Recreation District for only $1 a year. This one-story brick building was believed to be built around 1870 and was used as the Pelham Mill’s office until the textile plant closed in 1930. The building became a Pelham Post Office until its closing in 1996. Since the building was never placed on the historical register, it would have been demolished if Western Carolina had not stepped in to help.

A new park is planned for 2008 at the site. The land is being cleared, revealing buildings and stone work from the dam's past. The clearing of the brush at the base of the dam has revealed some incredible brickwork and ruins of structures. I will post another blog featuring these newly rediscovered structures.

All 123 pictures of the location are in this flickr set.

Fire certainly was no stranger to the Pelham Batesville community. In fact, fire had destroyed the community's central landmark, the Pelham Mill, in the year of 1943. At that time the only fire trucks available came from Greenville and Greer, and both were too far away to be of much help.

Only the small Mill Office survives to this day. The building is slated for renovation during the next few years.

Click on picture to see more larger image

( Interior of the Pelham Mill office... )

Current Mood: contemplative

Welcome to a another abandoned building in Asheville NC. This is an industrial building with a mixture of modern and antique furnaces/boilers. The most modern piece of equipment is a boiler. The rods in the largest unit seems to indicate that it is another boiler. I was struggling with the low light, so the images have a bit of blur. They'll be better next time!

This picture set is the second of two adjacent buildings. All 65 pictures from the abandoned warehouse and boiler house are in this flickr set.

Top Picture: Boiler Building with a mixture of antique and (relatively) modern equipment
Bottom picture: Looking across room, picture taken on observation platform.

Click on picture to see more larger image

( More pics from the boiler house... )

Current Mood: accomplished

My lovely mate and I toured the town of Pendleton SC looking for some picture taking opportunities. We came upon the partially abandoned Pendleton Oil Mill. The location still manufacturers and ships "non compost, natural organic fertilizers; wholesales chemicals & allied products; wholesales feed Compost, Fish meal, Manure or guano, Plant hormones, Fertilizers and plant nutrients and herbicides, Organic fertilizers and plant nutrients, Chemical fertilizers and plant nutrients, Herbicides, Nonhazardous waste disposal, and Liquid waste treatment". Joy!

An observation of the site revealed that some portion of the operation was now abandoned, with rusted conveyors, augers and motors visible from the outside. This is one location that I'd be afraid to enter due to the presence of unknown chemicals! The site was an interesting study in planned abandonment as production methods changed.

( More Views of Oil Mill )

Current Mood: accomplished

This is my last set of pictures from the Laurens Mills picture shoot. The pics feature the artifacts that I found on the site. Some were expected. Others were were not. I believe this "treasure hunt" is one of the things that makes photographic adventures like this so interesting. All 115 of the Laurens Mills pictures can be found in this flickr set.

Door to Nowhere...

( The artifacts of Laurens Mills... )

Current Mood: contemplative

The Laurens Mill in Laurens SC is now a demolition site. This set of pictures focuses on the debris still remaining on the site after 4+ years of work removing the once impressive structure. I'm not sure what is more sad; the neglected building, skeletal remains of a building, piles of debris, or empty spaces where a building once was. These pictures of debris are a testimony for a building just one step away from vanishing forever.

( The Ruins of Laurens Mill )

Current Mood: awake

This set of pictures from the Laurens Mill in Laurens SC features the remaining walls and buttresses of the building.

This present day view is from the smokestack end of the building. Only five or six window bays are left of the original building walls. The largest corner remaining of the building is of newest construction. The flying buttresses reveal the barest outlines of the original building, leaving the imagination to see what is not longer present.

( Walls and Space )

Current Mood: exhausted

The remains of the Lauren Mills in Laurens SC is a fascinating location. I toured the site and took 115 pictures. Portions of them will be posted in separate blogs.

Research showed that the mill is featured in a Urban Exploration Resource (UER) web page. In 2004 the mill was undergoing demolition. This great set of pictures shows that state of the building at that time. Though largely removed, the remains of the building are interesting because they both pull back the structure of the building and show a thoroughly deconstructed vision of a once great building.

The two towers in the left picture are all that is left of the original four towers. The picture on the right is an antique picture of the mill. The towers at the left of the postcard are those still present today. The one in the back of the building is the tower I explored with my camera. This tower was constructed with a stairwell and elevator. The elevator is an addition not present in the postcard. The top of the tower was some kind of storeroom with the shelved bins still present.

( Climbing the Stairwell Tower )

Current Mood: contemplative

Profile

kokopelle

Poetry Accident

April 2020

S	M	T	W	T	F	S
			1	2	3	4
5	6	7	8	9	10	11
12	13	14	15	16	17	18
19	20	21	22	23	24	25
26	27	28	29	30

Syndicate

Page Summary

'Tunnel' in the Ruins
Traction Street Industrial Site - Greenville SC
Abandoned Mill Storage Room
Pelham Mills Factory
Historical Pelham Mills Dam
Pelham Mill Office - Greer SC
Asheville NC Boiler House
Pendleton Oil Mill
Artifacts of Laurens Mills
The Ruins of Laurens Mill
The Ghost of Laurens Mill
Stairwell Tower at Laurens Mill

Active Entries

Style Credit

Style: Neutral Good for Practicality by timeasmymeasure

Expand Cut Tags

No cut tags

Page generated Jul. 5th, 2025 01:53 pm

Journey to Ixtlan

(are we there yet?)

Entries tagged with industrial

'Tunnel' in the Ruins

Traction Street Industrial Site - Greenville SC

Abandoned Mill Storage Room

Pelham Mills Factory

Historical Pelham Mills Dam

Pelham Mill Office - Greer SC

Asheville NC Boiler House

Pendleton Oil Mill

Artifacts of Laurens Mills

The Ruins of Laurens Mill

The Ghost of Laurens Mill

Stairwell Tower at Laurens Mill