Abandoned - The story of a forgotten America.

The 1969 Chevy C10

I had expected to come across a waterfall or two along a road that was aptly named Falls Run Road, but instead, I came across a beautiful 1969 Chevrolet C10 step side pickup truck. Based on the license plate, it has not been registered since 1990. Th

The Chevrolet C series of pickup trucks were manufactured by General Motors between 1960 and 2002 and competed directly against the Ford F-series and Dodge D-series. For the second generation of the C series, the body was redesigned to improve its capability as a multi-purpose vehicle and included more convenient features, such as automatic transmissions, AM/FM radio, and carpeting.

While the truck has been mostly protected from the elements inside a pole barn for decades, the structure is facing imminent collapse. It doesn’t appear to be faring much better than the house next to the barn.

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Appalachia

Coming To Wilsontown

People always seem to gravitate toward the latest “Instagram” hotspot in West Virginia, but there is so much to discover—sometimes even alongside the road!

While traveling down to Holly River State Park and its many wonderful waterfalls, I came across a seemingly forgotten cascade along Flatwoods Run. It isn’t the tallest in the state, nor is it the grandest, but it offers serenity that’s easy for anyone to get to.

The waterfall is located in the small, unincorporated community of Wilsontown which was settled by Gideon Hall Wilson in the mid-1860s who operated a grist and sawmill along Flatwoods Run. A small chapel was erected in 1887 which is loosely surrounded by stately active and abandoned residences.

Time has seemingly passed Wilsontown by. The grist and sawmill were destroyed by fire in 1890, and many of the once-stately residences are abandoned or heavily modified.

Appalachia

Rainy Day Aerials of an Asylum

A deeply overcast morning provided the perfect setting for aerials of the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum, later known as the Weston State Hospital, in Weston, West Virginia.

Designed in the Gothic Revival and Tudor Revival styles by Baltimore architect Richard Snowden Andrews, construction on the hospital began in 1858, and the first patients were admitted in October 1864. Extensive wings were added in 1872-73. At 1,295 feet in length, it was the most massive structure built from hand-cut stone in the United States and the second-largest worldwide after the Kremlin.

In 1986, Governor Arch Moore announced plans for an entirely new mental treatment facility; the circa 1880 facility would be converted into a prison. After numerous court battles and petitions, the new William R. Sharpe Jr. Hospital opened in 1994. In 2007, the West Virginia Department of Health & Human Resources auctioned the vacant hospital. Joe Jordan, an asbestos demolition contractor, was the highest bidder who planned to preserve and restore the complex.

As of 2021, the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum offers a variety of tours and experiences, including heritage, paranormal, and photography events, ghost hunts, and the annual Asylum Ball.

Appalachia

The Algoma Company Store

Imagine standing in the heart of the Pocahontas Coalfield region of southwest West Virginia, surrounded by the rugged topography of the mountains. Amidst this landscape lies the abandoned Algoma Company Store and Offices.

Appalachia

The 1963 Chevy Impala

Tucked away inside an abandoned and collapsing funeral home in the coalfields of West Virginia is a beautiful 1963 Chevrolet Impala. Based on the license plate, it has not been registered since 1989.

Appalachia

The Tiny Prosperity School

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, West Virginia had thousands of schools that were gradually closed through consolidations. The isolated Prosperity School atop Great Flat Top Mountain remained open far longer than others.

Appalachia

Winding Gulf Churches

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.

Appalachia

Exploring the Old Hospital on College Hill

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.

Appalachia

The 1969 Chevy C10

Coming To Wilsontown

Rainy Day Aerials of an Asylum

The Algoma Company Store

The 1963 Chevy Impala

The Tiny Prosperity School

Winding Gulf Churches

Exploring the Old Hospital on College Hill

The History of Lake Shawnee

New River Gorge’s Industrial Transformation

Derelict Railroad Cars in Kentucky

Presidents Park

A White Christmas at Limeville

Granny’s House

Church of the Transfiguration Collapse

The Essex County Home and Farm

Totuskey Creek Store

Exploring the Poplar Hill Mansion

The Brumaghim Family Farm

Ventures Into a Collapsing Abandoned House

Abandoned Posts