A visual and historical record of the railroads, mills, asylums, and lost communities that reveal a vanishing chapter of America's past.
New York
The Catatonk Creek Bridge carried West Candor Road over Catatonk Creek in Tioga County, New York.
West Virginia
Kenova's H. K. Porter 0-4-0T No. 1 locomotive — built in 1918, displayed for decades in West Virginia, and relocated to Kentucky in 2024 for restoration.
Ohio
The Lake Shore Electric Railway's history — from its 1901 founding through its peak connecting Cleveland to Toledo to its 1938 shutdown.
Ohio
The C&O Railroad branch to Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant — built in 1954 to serve uranium enrichment operations before its dismantling in 2001.
Indiana
Gary Union Station's history — from its 1910 Beaux-Arts opening through decades of decline to preservation efforts and a stalled 2023 restoration.
Harrisburg State Hospital, Pennsylvania's first public asylum, has been mostly torn down for a $450 million state lab complex—and taking a harder…
Read MoreSherman Cahal is an author, historian, and photographer who has spent more than two decades documenting the overlooked corners of America — railroads, industrial ruins, abandoned institutions, and the small towns left behind. His work pairs archival research with field photography to keep a record of places most people never see.