Category: Appalachia

April 22, 2021 / Appalachia

Mining in the Winding Gulf coalfield of West Virginia began in the early 1900s, producing low-volatile smokeless coal, including metallurgical coal suitable for use in steel making. Mining was centered on the thick Beckley seam until it was economically exhausted by the 1950s, and the Pocahontas seam until the late 1980s.

But after the coal seams were exhausted, these coal camps were all but abandoned and today, only a few reminders of this booming era remain.

I was pretty excited to come across two notable churches in the Winding Gulf that are still extant.

April 20, 2021 / Appalachia

Years ago, when I first started to explore the coalfields of Appalachia, I would venture down the Tolsia and King Coal highways toward Williamson, West Virginia. Atop College Hill was the old Williamson Memorial Hospital, a place that I had long wanted to venture inside of. On April 11, 2021, I finally had my chance.

April 5, 2021 / Appalachia

The abandoned Lake Shawnee Amusement Park in southern West Virginia is probably home to more ghostly tales than any other place in the region—but they are just that, stories told as truths that have at times come at the expense of Native Americans.

March 25, 2021 / Appalachia
December 26, 2020 / Appalachia
November 17, 2020 / Appalachia

The aptly nicknamed “Granny’s House” is an abandoned circa 1840 Colonial-style residence filled with furnishings and antiques in Massachusetts.

October 1, 2020 / Appalachia

It’s not common to come across an intact county home and farm, but a well preserved and unique example lies tucked away in a remote corner of New York thanks to a preservation-minded caretaker.

August 12, 2020 / Appalachia
May 5, 2020 / Appalachia

My journey through West Virginia a few days ago took me by the former Morris Memorial Hospital for Crippled Children in Milton. I had been wanting to conduct aerial photography of the site for some time and see how much progress had been made in converting it into the Grand Patrician Resort & Spa!

January 27, 2020 / Appalachia

After losing my first drone, a GoPro Karma, to a tree and ultimately Tupper Lake in the Adirondack Mountains of New York over a year ago, I have been itching to get back in the air. And since that faithful day, I’ve been wanting to capture this massive tailing pile and concentrating plant. I finally got the chance to yesterday after a fresh snowfall blanketed the region.

January 2, 2020 / Appalachia
December 19, 2019 / Appalachia

Victorian-era adornments, often referred to as “gingerbread” details, are among my favorite architectural features, as they transform simple designs into elaborate and ornate structures.

November 7, 2019 / Appalachia

On a misty, storm-wrapped late autumn day, a drive along the Upper Delaware Scenic Byway, skirting the edge of New York’s Catskill Mountains, can steal your breath quicker than a cold snap in November.

October 7, 2019 / Appalachia
July 24, 2019 / Appalachia
November 12, 2018 / Appalachia

The Rust Belt defines a vast declining industrial corridor of the United States roughly between Chicago and Albany, New York, and dominating many of those once-bustling communities are churches. Many were built as domestic steel mills were being constructed across the country in the early 20th century, and many were closed with the collapse of the steel industry.

August 22, 2018 / Appalachia
July 2, 2018 / Appalachia

At 2,500 feet in elevation, exploring the former Allegheny Tuberculosis Sanatorium was a delight. With heavy fog blanketing the campus in the early mornings, perpetual overcast days, and cooler temperatures even in the dead of summer, its location along the Allegheny Mountain front in Pennsylvania was ideal.

February 8, 2018 / Appalachia

Do we have any X-Files fans on here? You can guess my excitement when I learned that the episode Kitten was centered around Mud Lick, Kentucky.

January 10, 2018 / Appalachia

Tucked away in the Catskill Mountains of New York is an abandoned artist’s residence once belonging to the Romesky family. The house is now in an unfortunate state of collapse but much of the interior remains intact and includes glimpses into their livelihoods.