Come visit the authors of the new Abandoned Kentucky book at the American Graffiti Bash event in downtown Paducah this Saturday between 5-10 PM! We will sell and sign the new Abandoned Kentucky book by the historic Columbia Theater! The American Graffiti Bash event is being held in the 400 and 500 blocks of Broadway in downtown and will include a fun night of vintage cars, food, drinks, treats, music, and more! The event is being hosted by Columbia Theater, a committed group working toward the resurrection of the historic movie palace as a future hub of downtown and a nod to our past. If you can’t make the event, you can pick up a copy of Abandoned Kentucky through your local Kentucky bookseller and on Amazon.
Abandoned Posts
Purchase the new Abandoned Kentucky book at your local Kentucky bookseller or at Amazon today! The stunning images found in Abandoned Kentucky offer us a window into our past, showing life in the Bluegrass State as it was back then, and sti
Purchase the new Abandoned Kentucky book at your local Kentucky bookseller or at Amazon today!
The stunning images found in Abandoned Kentucky offer us a window into our past, showing life in the Bluegrass State as it was back then, and stirring in us a sense of wonder and curiosity about those who have gone before us and the lives they lived.
Go inside the historic Columbia Theatre in downtown Paducah and the shuttered Union Station depot in Henderson. From the Old Crow bourbon distillery along Glenn’s Creek to the Parker Tobacco Company in Maysville and a once-grand farmhouse in McLean County, these photographs showcase the rich history and untold stories of abandoned places from one corner of Kentucky to the other.
Where others may see only decay and rot in these long-forgotten locations, Sherman Cahal, Adam Paris, and Michael Maes see exquisite beauty.
Work progresses on the massive Grand Patrician Resort & Country Club development in Milton, West Virginia. The complex was once the Morris Memorial Hospital for Crippled Children that was built in phases from 1936 to 1941 by the Works Progress Administration for children stricken with polio.
Earlier this year, I revisited the Lonaconing Silk Mill, a significant historical site as one of the last intact silk mills in the United States. This mill, operated by the Klotz Throwing Company and General Textile Mills Company, was in active use from 1901 until its closure in 1957.
Earlier this year, I revisited the Lonaconing Silk Mill, a significant historical site as one of the last intact silk mills in the United States. This mill, operated by the Klotz Throwing Company and General Textile Mills Company, was in active use from 1901 until its closure in 1957.
In 1978, following interest from a company in reviving the mill, Herbert Crawford and a business partner acquired the complex. Crawford had ambitious plans to convert the interior into a functioning museum. Despite his efforts, these plans were hindered by insufficient funding and a lack of support from state initiatives. After Crawford’s passing in February 2019, the silk mill property fell into a state of neglect and suffered vandalism.
In March 2022, Brandon Sloan stepped in to acquire the Lonaconing mill from Crawford’s heirs. Sloan is dedicated to preserving the mill in its existing state, with a primary focus on repairing the deteriorating roof to prevent further damage.
For those interested in the history and ongoing preservation efforts of the Lonaconing Silk Mill, I recommend visiting Sloan’s website, The Klotz Company Store. This site offers information on events and various items related to the silk mill’s rich history. Additionally, The Silk Mill, a companion Facebook page, provides regular updates on the mill’s status and preservation activities. These resources are invaluable for anyone interested in the legacy of this historic silk mill.
If you are traveling along the West Virginia Turnpike, you may have noticed the portals to Memorial Tunnel.
We are bursting with pride to be able to hold our finished book, Abandoned Kentucky, in our hands. We were so excited and couldn’t wait to see it. It is simply stunning and it’s something else to go from concept to hardcover reality. https://youtu.be
We are bursting with pride to be able to hold our finished book, Abandoned Kentucky, in our hands. We were so excited and couldn’t wait to see it. It is simply stunning and it’s something else to go from concept to hardcover reality.
The stunning images found in Abandoned Kentucky offer us a window into our past, showing life in the Bluegrass State as it was back then, and stirring in us a sense of wonder and curiosity about those who have gone before us and the lives they lived.
Go inside the historic Columbia Theatre in downtown Paducah and the shuttered Union Station depot in Henderson. From the Old Crow bourbon distillery along Glenn’s Creek to the Parker Tobacco Company in Maysville, and a once-grand farmhouse in McLean County, these photographs showcase the rich history and untold stories of abandoned places from one corner of Kentucky to the other.
Where others may see only decay and rot in these long-forgotten locations, Sherman Cahal, Adam Paris, and Michael Maes see exquisite beauty.
Abandoned Kentucky is already available for pre-order at Amazon and will soon be available for purchase at national retailers and independent booksellers across Kentucky and elsewhere.
- You can already pre-order from Amazon
- A list of retailers where you can obtain a copy of Abandoned Kentucky will be released later when we know more from our distributor.
Located along the Kentucky River Palisades is a unique but abandoned fluorspar mine turned speakeasy.
Today, Briceville, Tennessee, appears tranquil, but it played a pivotal role in the Coal Mine Wars of 1891-92.
Positioned prominently along Interstate 75 in Campbell County, Tennessee, two rusting Ferris wheels and a replica Titan rocket continue to draw the attention of drivers passing by.
Forest Fair Mall/Cincinnati Mills/Cincinnati Mall’s days are numbered under a new plan to tear down the mall for redevelopment.
The New Salem Baptist Church stands as the sole remaining structure in the now-deserted town of Tams, West Virginia.
The New Salem Baptist Church stands as the sole remaining structure in the now-deserted town of Tams, West Virginia.
Founded in 1909 by Major William Purviance Tams, Jr., Tams was a company town established for the Gulf Smokeless Coal Company. The town was segregated, with distinct areas for Caucasian, Black, and immigrant residents. It featured two Baptist churches for the white and black communities and a Catholic church for immigrants.
Major Tams was known for his comparatively humane treatment of residents. His community was distinguished by several amenities rare for coal towns at the time: a miners’ bathhouse (the first in West Virginia), the Golden Gate Theatre (the first opera house in a U.S. coal town), and a modern recreation building with a dance pavilion, gymnasium, reading room, and swimming pool.
In 1911, Tams’ company pioneered a reduction in the workday to nine hours in the region, which was further reduced to eight hours by World War I. The company also paid its miners wages higher than the standard union rate.
Life in Tams, as in many company towns, was intertwined with the company itself. By the 1960s, Major Tams’ approach, prioritizing fair wages and stable living conditions (though wages were often paid in company scrip), was seen as outdated. The Gulf Smokeless Coal Company merged into Winding Gulf Collaries in 1955 and later became part of Westmoreland Coal, a larger conglomerate. As commuting from nearby towns became more common, Tams began to lose its population, leading to near abandonment by the mid-1970s.
Major Tams passed away in 1977 in the very community he had established, his life mirroring the rise and gradual decline of the Winding Gulf coalfield.
An abandoned railroad bridge over the Levisa Fork in Pike County, Kentucky seemed a little out of place.
Red Ash, established in 1891 by the Red Ash Coal & Coke Company, was a significant coal camp located along the New River in West Virginia.
Snaking through the southern reaches of Floyd County, Kentucky is the remains of the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway Long Fork Subdivision that connected to some of the most prosperous coal mines in the state.
In my travels through West Virginia, I frequently encounter abandoned roadside churches, relics of a bygone era.
Nestled along a quiet side road in the heart of Appalachia, there lies a relic of times long past, a two-story house that whispers stories of the bygone era.
This guide explains how nitrocellulose (smokeless powder) and black powder was produced at Indiana Army Ammunition Plant in Charlestown, Indiana.
My friend Ben and I were excited to explore West Virginia, aiming to visit locations featured in the Fallout 76 video game. Despite Ben’s tight schedule, we hoped to see key sites like the New River Gorge, Seneca Rocks, Mollohan Mill, and Dolly Sods. However, the extensive driving distances and winding mountain roads required us to condense our plans.
The mountains and hollers of West Virginia are dotted with the remnants of communities past, reminders of earlier times when gossip was exchanged at post offices, when general stores were locally owned, when education was tailored, and when neighbors knew their neighbors. Braxton County is no exception, with the region’s heyday coming in the early parts of the 20th century when employment was mostly centered around extractive industries: coal mining, timbering, and natural gas production. Its population peaked decades ago with nearly 24,000 residents. Today, just a few small cities call this mostly rural county over 12,000 home: Sutton, Gassaway, Burnsville, and Flatwoods, primarily nestled along the Elk River and Interstate 79. With 516 square miles to explore, you don’t have to travel far to get away from the hubbub of activity, and that’s where you encounter Wilsie. Located at the juncture of two branches of Dry Fork, not much remains other than an old general store and an old post office that closed in mid-2005, surrounded by the remnants of an old school and several shuttered houses. Interestingly, the false front of the general store was cut off and tagged with the name of the store and a reminder that it was “closed for remodeling.” It doesn’t appear that any work has been completed on the buildings which are in a state of severe disrepair. In the vicinity of Wilsie is a long-abandoned two classroom school, one of hundreds that dotted the hollers and hilltops of the state. Simple…
The Amanda Furnace and BOF at the former Armco/AK Steel Ashland Works were simultaneously imploded at 8:30 AM this morning. Steelmaking operations were idled on December 15, 2015, and the plant was closed for good by November 2019. The Hanging Rock Iron Region in southern Ohio, northeastern Kentucky, and western West Virginia produced iron between 1818 and 1916, which helped build armaments for the Civil War, hulls for the Monitor and Merrimac ships, kettles and pots, tools, and wagon wheels. It was predicted that iron ore in the Hanging Rock Iron Region would last for 2,700 years but most of the iron seams had been depleted by the 1900s. Traditional blast furnaces, a type of metallurgical furnace used for smelting to produce pig iron, continued to be built until 1963 when the Amanda opened at Armco’s Ashland Works. The crown jewel of the steelmaking industry, it was the largest of its type in the world. Ashland Works at its peak was the second-largest facility by Armco. It boasted the world’s first continuous sheet rolling mill, which was later replaced with a hot-strip mill in 1953. A cold reduction mill, strip pickler, light gauge Zincgrip line, and a heavy gauge Zincgrip line were completed in 1954. Armco had developed the Zincgrip process in 1936 by offering the first zinc-coated (and later aluminum-coated) coils that were far superior to older processes. The open-hearth furnaces were shut down in 1969, which coincided with the start-up of the basic oxygen furnace complex (BOF). But…