ruralRuin

Cooper Dragonette painting

2009-12-09T17:11:46Z

One of many Cooper Dragonette paintings that fit the mood of this community....

http://cooperdragonette.blogspot.com/2009/12/winter-barn.html

Grebnevo, Russia

2009-12-06T05:05:29Z

Time Files

2009-11-28T03:42:56Z

Photographed in a barn at an abandoned citrus packing plant near De Land, Florida.

Poor farms

2009-11-25T22:14:27Z

Being unable to care for one's self in Victorian times was seen as very dishonorable to a family, especially in America, the land of independence. Before the era of retirement homes, social security, or even state hospitals, the first attempt to remove burdens from society (other than prisons) came in the form of poor houses, or poor farms, akin to 10th century European almshouses.

Communities built self-sufficient facilities to house the poor, the disabled, and the elderly, leaving the more able-bodied to essentially fend for the other residents with provided resources.

The two poorhouses featured here held between 20 and 30 beds, and possibly more above the garages and stables. History aside, they were really big houses that look cool when they implode on themselves after decades of decay.

These institutions began to be abandoned as the Social Security program was adopted in the 1930s, and while the land is still farmed, the connotation of poverty and destitution still lingers in these areas.

Not far from the abandoned poor farms, regional homeless shelters and senior centers are now accommodating for thinly-spread welfare and social security packages as this this measure of the population is growing larger.

I'm still trying to find the location of the poor farm in my home county, but stories conflict and records are curiously absent.

Hotel by the Bay

2009-11-18T15:31:16Z

From a Flood long ago

2009-11-17T15:42:25Z

Having hiked every trail and game trail along this creek, I decided to hike the creek itself, wading in the water. It is by that route that I came across this long ago flood wash. It was an early morning hike, just outside of Austin, Tx. It's odd to think of how many times I've passed this, unknowingly, and for how many years, as I love this creek.

Trees have grown around it, and it is buried by years of cliff-slide debris on this side of the vehicle. The engine is still in it, though rusted and mostly buried. I don't know the make of the car either.

I have more photos, but I haven't processed them all yet.

Below you can view both photos on black, where you can click to view it larger as well.
First Photo:
View On Black

Second Photo:
View On Black

St. Lukes Church Abercarn(UK)

2009-11-07T12:56:33Z

I know this ruin well as I attended the church as a child. It is on the mountain side above and outside the village of Abercarn, Gwent I had hoped to get closer but the first picture and the close up of the tower were taken from outside a locked and chained high gate. The front view is taken from the main steps up to the church which have been mined out by locals wanting good stone for patios and walls. The windows, all of which were Victorian/Edwardian stained glass were removed and put into a near by less isolated church that had no stained glass.

Lock 22, Hennepin Canal, near Wyanet, IL

2009-10-15T18:27:45Z

The Hennepin Canal was constructed to join the Illinois River to the Rock River and provide a direct water route between Chicago and Rock Island, IL and even more importantly to the Mississippi River. Earlier, all boat traffic had to travel all the way down the Illinois River to Alton, IL just north of St. Louis and then back up the Mississippi to Rock Island. The 75 mile long canal would cut off 419 miles of this trip. A sister project completed decades earlier, the Illinois and Michigan Canal tied together several rivers and wtih the Hennepin canal, provided a water route from Lake Michigan to the Gulf of Mexico. Construction started in 1890 and was completed in 1907. A 30 mile long feeder canal was also constructed from higher up the Rock River to the central part of the canal and supplied the canal with more water when it was needed to raise the water level. Unfortunately though, during the construction, the Corps of Engineers enlarged all the locks on the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers to accommodate larger barges that were being built. So by the time the canal was completed, it was already obsolete for large barge traffic. Plus cheaper rail shipping was beginning to make barge shipping too expensive. Still it remained open to smaller commercial and recreational traffic until 1951. In the winter, the canal would freeze and ice was cut and sold to help maintain the canal. Several small freight companies made use of it by selling goods to farmers and hauling grain to market.

The canal had 33 locks. 21 were required to make the 196 foot climb in elevation from the Illinois River to Wyanet. Lock 22 sits at the summit of the climb, just west of Wyanet. The Corps of Engineers employed 55 people to run the canal. At each of the 34 locks was either a lockman or a patrolman or both. 14 of the locks had Marshall gates which were unique as they raised and lowered horizontally like a rural mailbox door instead of swinging outward like batwing doors. A telephone system was built so the lockmen could be informed when a boat was coming to their lock. All the locks were operated by hand and the gates and enclosures were all built of concrete which was cheaper than cut stone. After 1951, the lock gates were all replaced with concrete slabs which created a series of waterfalls on the canal. Now recreational boat traffic has to portage around the waterfalls. Each lockman was provided with a residence near the lock and all the foundations were of poured concrete which was very unusual for the time. None of the houses had electrical wiring or indoor plumbing. Bridges crossed several of the locks. The bridges could be raised or lowered by hand. The normal position was up to allow for river traffic to pass underneath when the lock raised the water level. A wheel windlass sat near the bridge. This was turned to either lift or lower huge counterweights. When the weights were raised, the bridge went down and vice versa. The bridge at Lock 22 is called the Farmer's Bridge because it was constructed for local farmers so they could get their wagons of grain to market.

The old tow path is now a hiking/biking trail and the canal is still open to recreational boat traffic and is part of a state park. I think this Lockman's house must have been lived in by someone else as there are clearly some electrical outlets that were added later.

Water rushes over the concrete dam where the canal locks once were.

The Farmer's Bridge.

The chain, pulley and gears that were used to raise and lower the bridge. The stacked metal plates under the pulley are the counterweights. The lockman's home can be seen in the background.

Approaching the bridge from the opposite shore.

Going downstream and looking back at the bridge.

The Lockman's house from the outside.

All the lower doors and windows were boarded and barred like this but...

Someone had attempted a break in at one point.

Interior of the house.

Back outside...log frame construction sitting right on top of the concrete foundation.

Lid of the cistern and a bolt found nearby.

Roof and sub-roof...the old diamond shingle pattern.

Piece of the fallen metal rain gutter.

Upper windows.

Enjoy,

Wander

Hemp Plantation House near Lexington, MO

2009-10-07T17:26:16Z

If you travel east or west on US 24 through western Missouri, you will come across several old plantation houses, many in the Greek revival style. The area was settled in the 1830's and the population boomed for several decades due to the proximity of the Missouri river which was a major shipping channel at the time and the abundance of coal and other natural resources. There was a brickworks not far away that supplied bricks for the entire region so most of the houses you see along the road are made of brick and have survived at least in part. The area became known for cattle, hemp and tobacco farms. Hemp was used to make rope. Nearby Lexington, MO was the site of the founding of the Pony Express and the home of Quantrill's Raiders during the Civil War. The completion of the Transcontinental Railroad in 1869 and Kansas City's later connection to it spelled an end to the future of Missouri River commerce and as Kansas City gained population, this region started to decline in both population and importance. Coal production continued into the 1900's to fuel the railroad and farming diversified into corn, wheat and soybeans. It remains an agricultural area today.

I found this house a few years ago but never had time to stop. So I finally did this past August. The surrounding fields were in corn and soybeans and some of the outbuildings were being used as storage for machinery, but the house has been long neglected. I had to hop a low electric fence meant to keep critters in but no one stopped along the road as I explored. The grass looked as if it had not been mowed in a very long time and unruly brush blocks access to one whole side of the house. The wooden surfaces inside and out are badly decayed. If the house were all wood I doubt it would still be standing, but brick lasts a very long time.

The approach.

Dormer on the addition.

Inside the back porch.

Virginia Creeper doing it's creeping up the high walls on the back.

The fireplace showing various stages of use. As a fireplace, then covered and later used for a wood stove.

Floor to ceiling of interior room. It looks as if a whole joist fell at one time.

Moving back around front.

The sagging porch and detail above the columns.

Second story door. There was probably a rail around the top of the porch roof that provided a balcony here.

Various windows. Notice there was an attempt at storm windows upstairs but not down. I loved the tattered curtains.

Parting shots.

Enjoy,

Wander

Raglan Catle

2009-09-30T16:53:57Z

I spent the morning at one of our bigger Rural ruins, Raglan Castle. While many of the Norman Castles in Wales have had towns and even cities grow up around them Raglan stand proud in the flat(ish) land just on the English border in South Wales. There is a small village within sight of it, but it is a distant sight as you will see. I have learned to do clckable thumbnails now so the majority of the pictures (all those under the cut) will be of this type. I have heard that many of the Castle scenes in the new series of Merlin were filmed at Raglan but I don't know idf there is any truth in this.

The castle from the carpark. The castle was inhabited right up to the Civil war which started in 1642. The owner. The Earl of Pembroke stood for the King (Charles I) and when the castle fell to the Parlimentarians it was slighted(made ruinous) so that it could not be used by the Royalists again

The white gate and Main entrance to the country house castle of the 17th century.

The right hand gate tower has been made weather proof in the two of the rooms of the ground floor but not the main one. This is the one the gate guards would have spent most of their spare time. This is their fire and small oven.

The two weatherproof rooms held a white board display of the castle's time line, unphotographable because of the flair from the flash bouncing off the boards. They had restored the fireplace here but no oven, this must be the officers room.

A view from the window, that apple tree, if it existed at all , must have been a mere seedling.

The main courtyard

The Grand staircase to the 17th century 'house'

What it looked like before the local folk used it as a quarry.

The Great Tower
This was built to be the last Bastion of resistance having it's own moat and drawbridge and was used as such during the last battle but it was also used for living in and had a pleasure walk along side the moat on the far side from the tower.

It has it's own well and you can see the walk behind the outer wall across the moat.

The moat is kept shallow these days but in war time would have meen as full as it could be. Today there are water plants and fish instead of sewage and kitchen waste.

This is the bridge and drawbridge entrance to the tower, the gap for the drawbridge is now covered by a wooden bridge.

And final a few details from around the castle. The first is the window of the Solar where the Lord and his family spent most of their days.
Some of the original glass was still in place when the castle was taken over by the Government in the early twentieth century. I assume it has been removed to Cardiff Museum. for safety.

And finally views from the top of the great Tower. the mountain in the bacjground on some of these are called the Black Mountains and are the foot hills of the Brecon Beacons.

And finally the view of Raglan village from the castle car park.

Did I say finally, I forgot this.
This is a living ruin, A blasted Oak, and oak tree that has suffered a lightning strike at some time in it's long life and is now half alive and half dead, hollow trhrough out and a wonderful old ruin.

On the left the living wood, on the right the dead, with woodworm.

The Ghost town of Farley, NM

2009-09-29T21:16:53Z

Farley seems to have died in stages. What is left now seems to be in the death throes. I'd gone there last month to see the old High School which at one time boasted a NM State Championship basketball team. I didn't expect to find that the whole town had died too. Farley started out life in 1929 as a railroad town being that it was the rail head for a Spur line of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad out from Mt. Dora NM. For about 30 years, the town was booming with a High School, cafe, hotel, grocery store, post office, gas station and newspaper. Then in the 1960's the rail spur was closed down and the tracks torn up. When the reason for the town's existence left, so did many of the residents. The High School is still there although empty now and behind a barbed wire and electric fence and very unapproachable. The last class seems to have graduated around the end of the 90's or very early 2000's. Main street holds many clues about the town's demise. A Health Inspection sticker in the window of the old Cafe dates only to the 60's and 50's model trucks are parked like skeletons out front. I drove around for a few hours and saw not a soul though there were newish cars parked in front of some houses. No businesses have survived though and the nearest gas station or grocery store is 10 miles away in Gladstone, NM. I'd imagine once the current residents die or move there will be no reason save the cemetery for anyone to come to Farley again.

The High School.

Skeletons on Main Street.

Another fallen warrior. An early 50's model International Harvester Model L-180 truck.

1953 Studebaker 2R6 Stake Body truck.

The Jumps house on the corner of 1st and Main. The house was boarded up.

Main Street businesses.

The Cafe.

The rest of the block consisted of one building that looked like possibly a feed and seed store.

Grocery store on the next block up Main.

The rear of the grocery store.

Airstream trailer parked alongside. Check out the marks the tree left on it.

Adobe house that seems to predate the town.

Lot at the end of the block.

Good Memories.

Enjoy,

Wander

rural_ruin @ 2009-09-28T18:35:00

2009-09-28T23:40:16Z

Afghan men play soccer in front of the bombed out old royal palace,
in Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2009.

The palace was designed by a French architect and originally built in 1923 by King Amanullah.

Al Wadlington Home, Farley, NM

2009-09-22T19:48:48Z

This house was the home of the family that owned the abandoned Shell Service Station I featured on my last post. It was a huge coincidence that I even explored it. It was the car that got me. A 1955 Buick Roadmaster hardtop. Damn! It was a good thing I couldn't find the owner that day. I'd have been very short on money when I got home. When I did get back from my vacation, I did a little internet sleuthing and found an obituary for Virginia Wadlington who had been Al's wife. They were married in 1940 in Raton, NM, not too far away. He passed away in 1985. She passed in 1997. His full name was Albert Sidney Wadlington. They had a daughter who died earlier and two sons, Jack and Jerry who live in Texline, Texas and Elkhart, KS respectively. I've written to Jack with no answer yet. I'll try Jerry next for more details on the town. The house was filled with papers, many of them receipts having to do with the Service Station. I could not find any later than 1975 which is when I'm assuming it closed down. When she died, she was living in Gladstone, a town about 10 miles away. She moved there in 1991 from Farley so she must have stuck it out in that dying town for a few years after he passed on. From other receipts I found in the house, I found out Al had once owned cattle and sold them from time to time. Even with the mess, walking through the house I could tell a family grew up and had good times there. The floors were solid and ceiling mostly intact. Someone could make it a home again...if there was any reason to stay in a dying town.

That beautiful car.

Front of the house.

Mailbox.

Around the side. Welcome.

'Round back.

That windmill is afflicted.

The clothesline has seen better days too.

Standing in the back door.

In the kitchen. Was October 5 the last day?

The Bathroom.

A bedroom. That's a ceramic pepper on the wall.

The Living room and that's a console television and stereo by the window. The blue/green adding machine is actually an old cash register, probably used at the Service Station.

Bits of paper left behind. $5.84 for 10.2 gallons of gas..oh my.

Enjoy,

Wander

Abandoned motel in the middle of nowhere

2009-09-20T14:30:25Z

I don't think I ever posted this here before, if I did, tell me & I'll remove it.

Abandoned motel on Rt. 50, between Grafton and Bridgeport, WV. More behind the cut.

A few things:

- Sorry there aren't better shots.. or closer shots.. the Hot Dog stand next door was inexplicably busy that day, with a number of bikers and such. Perhaps some further investigation is in order when it's cold outside.

- I don't know anything about the history of this hotel! If by any chance somebody out there knows what it was called or anything about the history of it's operation, I would definiitely love to know.

- There are more cabins in the back, not connected like these ones, but individual cabins, and they seemed to be turned into (extremely tiny) apartments and occupied! Perhaps two or three of them.

EDIT: I am terribly sorry to report that this has been entirely demolished and replaced with hideous self storage as of September, 2009. There is no evidence that it ever existed.

The three cabins in the back that have been converted to apartments remain, but covered with aluminum siding.

Wadlington's Shell Station - Farley, NM

2009-09-15T16:41:29Z

The way I found out about Farley, NM was pretty odd. I was standing in a store in Cimarron, NM last month, about 100 miles away. I was waiting in line to check out and happened to pick up a book called Ghost Town Basketball which detailed all the NM Championship basketball teams whose schools no longer exist. The book just happened to fall open to the section on Farley. I'd never heard of the town before but it was close to my route when I was leaving the state the next day. When I got there, I found that not only is the high school a ghost now, but the whole town has pretty much faded to nothing. It's actually a rural ruin explorer's dream come true. The first of the buildings I explored was an old gas station. It seems something was leading me to this place because on the way out of town, I just happened to stop at an abandoned house and found it was the house of the owner of the Gas Station. That's how I found out what it had been called...from receipts left in the house. Funny huh? The owner's name was Al Wadlington.

Farley started life in 1929 as a rail head. A spur line of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad ran close. It was named after it's first postmaster. At one time it had a grocery store, a post office, this gas/service station, a large high school and a hotel. A weekly newspaper, The Farley Examiner operated from 1932 until the late 1970's. The town has the look of a place that saw it's best years in the 50's and 60's and then went quickly downhill from there. The railroad has long since closed the spur line and removed the tracks which probably led to the demise of the town. As far as I could tell there are now maybe 50 residents and no operating businesses. The Shell service station closed around 1975.

Exterior.

Fuel island.

Guts of the gasoline pumps.

Huge fuel tank that was once buried.

Water spigot.

Pile of parts including a torque converter.

Old tires including some bias ply tires that predate radial tires for cars built before the 1970's.

Oil Barrell.

Large Pulley.

Fuel refilling port. There were three. The other two didn't read BLUE or BLACK or anything. One had no cap. I'm assuming Regular (leaded) Gas and Possibly Unleaded or different grades of regular and possibly diesel.

A trash barrel lying beside the 3rd fuel refilling port.

Side door. Leaning against the interior of the door are shelves of parts bins that have fallen over.

"New" parts that never got used. These are engine bearings for a Cummins Diesel engine.

More leftover parts in the bins.

Front Door.

Inside the door. The service counter and those parts bins tipped over.

A counter that probably held oil and antifreeze at one time.

Old tires and bits of the ceiling litter the floor.

Approaching the service bay doors.

Doors detail.

Interior of the service bay from the front.

Service bay bench littered with parts.

The service bay from the rear. Many old stations had a pit in the floor instead of a hydraulic lift to get under cars.

Another parts bin in the service bay.

The ceiling in the service bay.

Sign that once sat out front advertising the station services.

An exterior storage building.

Old cellar entrance and car hood.

Doors to storage building.

Inside, lots of old tires mounted on rims and lots of junk.

Window.

Enjoy,

Wander

Photos not taken by me

2009-09-12T06:32:40Z

The Russian home of Vladimir Hrapovitsky. Built before the socialists took over and forced everyone, except the leaders, into tiny apartments.

Suspension of Disbelief #4

2009-09-10T04:13:05Z

Somewhere in the Florida Keys.

Wallstreet Mine, Boulder County, Colorado

2009-09-09T19:01:25Z

I've had this web site up for years, I don't know why I've never thought to link here before.

Wallstreet Mine, Boulder County, Colorado

The sign in the first photo describes the towers seen in the following three photos.

The tower itself is off limits to explorers, and for good reasons, both historical and for safety.

House near Hooper, CO

2009-09-09T17:36:38Z

In Mid-August, I was leaving the Great Sand Dunes National Monument and taking the shortcut through to Hooper, Colorado on Sixmile Lane. This place stood alongside the road about 3 miles before the Intersection with CO Highway 17 between Mosca and Hooper. The San Luis Valley where this house is located is home to only about 20,000 people in a space the size of the state of Connecticut. So it's common to go for miles without seeing any sort of man made structure. This must have been a beautiful but lonely little house at one time. Mostly the economy is based on ranching and farming. Tons of red potatoes, barley for Coors and wheat are grown here. Last time I was through that way was 1989 and it was abandoned then too, though I'm sure it sees it's share of overnight squatters throughout the year. It is part of a larger ranch and sometime in the past, cattle were kept there. But no fresh dung around indicates it's been awhile. Cliff swallows were the only residents on the day I visited. I saw no evidence of the house ever having electricity so unless the owners just passed up the opportunity, it was probably abandoned sometime before the 1960's. Near the doorways downstairs is evidence that there was once a wood floor. But further inside, all that remains is very firmly packed sod or quite possibly dung. Sometimes this covers the wood that remains.

When I saw the stairs, I thought twice about going up them, given that many were missing. But then I thought..."Those Rural Ruin people will be disappointed if I don't." So I put all my weight on the very edges of the steps and went up as far as I could before they started creaking too loudly for comfort. I was greeted by a colony of black ants.

The exterior.

The roof being guarded by an overly protective cliff swallow.

Wood framed windows.

First glance inside.

Exterior siding. Stucco over chicken wire.

Crossing the threshold.

Front room.

A covered window.

View out.

Holey walls Batman.

Cliff swallow houses. These birds are as ubiquitous here as barn swallows elsewhere in the US.

Chimney hole for the stove pipe from a wood stove.

Entrance to the next room.

Plaster over lath walls.

The back rooms.

Back side of the chimney. Home to a bird.

A bedroom.

A tiny and cramped room.

Under stairs storage.

A mass of old bailing wire on the floor.

Out the back door.

The dangerous stairs.

The upstairs rooms.

Uneven wood floors and the upstairs residents.

View from upstairs.

Just outside the back door.

Bones litter the ground outside.

Very old rim and various metal parts.

Inside a side door.

The yard with Blanca Peak in the background. Excessive use of surface water over time has turned much of the water alkaline so these white deposits are a common site around old water tanks.

Did it try to drink the water.

From the tank to the house.

No oasis here.

Enjoy,

Wander

Abandoned farm/mine in Utah

2009-09-08T02:53:13Z

Driving out of Bryce Canyon National Park on Highway 89, I spied a few mine tailings on otherwise pristine hills. Mine tailings usually mean abandoned homes or structures - at least it seems that way. This particular place was just outside of Hatch, UT. Four abandoned structures dotted the property. Fences in various states of dilapidated surrounded the area, but I didn't see any "no trespassing signs." The inside of the buildings revealed lots of broken bottles and in the main house, about seven pairs of tennis shoes and boots. Peeling newspaper lined the walls.

More photos here.

Cross-posted.

General Store, near Woods, Kansas

2009-09-02T22:16:18Z

I was getting white line fever on an exceptionally hot and windy drive through Kansas a couple weeks back. This looked like a good place to stop and rest a bit. It sits right across Kansas Highway 25 from a grain elevator and across a dirt road from a farm. Other than that it's a fairly deserted place. So I can imagine it was one of those convenient little stores or farm country service stations that everyone in a broad region knew about at one time. The place still seems solid but it's beginning to lean whether from a constant onslaught of plains winds or just from age. That it's been unused for decades seemed obvious. I don't think it ever had a modern electrical system.

The front.

Leaning to one side.

Right windowsill.

Out front looking up.

Left front window.

Approaching the front door. The screen door frame is laying on the ground.

The front door, looking very much like someone has tried to jimmie the lock before.

Interior.

Window on one side of building.

Looking down the other side. The wire is a grounding wire that once led to a lightning rod on the roof.

Window on this side. I've gone back and forth on what that thing on the sill is. Looks like a rivet gun but may also be a loading die of some kind.

Window on other side.

Back of the building.

Back door.

Rear interior. Lots of tires.

The roof.

Building sits right on the ground. I have no idea what that hole is.

Enjoy,

Wander

Riverside Motel, Brunswick, MO

2009-08-26T19:02:03Z

I shot this two weeks ago on the first leg of my annual sojourn to the Southwest US. As you come out of Brunswick, MO going west on US Rt 24, you see what's left of an old motor court right next to the crossing of the Chariton River. I don't often cross Missouri on US 24 as it slows down going through every small town. I usually take US 36 which bypasses everything and has the same scenery all the way through. But I'd noticed this place on a previous jaunt a few years ago. There is a website called the Payphone Project that lists the location of payphones all over the US. This motel is listed as having one and the number is (816) 548-9180. Calling it reveals a dead number which makes sense since it's a dead motel. That the place had a fire at one time is obvious but I think the fire happened after it closed down and was not the reason it closed down. Many surfaces seem not to have been touched by the fire. The fire was recent enough I could still smell it on the charred surfaces. The outside electrical plugs were still 2 prong. The sign is prominent along the highway but the rest of the place has been nearly swallowed by weeds. I'd say it's been abandoned at least 20 years.

The motel grounds. The office is on the left and the rooms are in a row on the right.

The Office.

Approaching the rooms through the weeds.

Charred timbers that once supported the roof of the breezeway.

External light fixture for each room.

Charred room doorway.

Inside what was probably 2 rooms. There was a bathtub on each side of the space.

A ruined dividing wall.

Bathtub and what's left of a toilet.

Bathtub on the opposite side of the room/space.

From the inside.

Adjacent room.

Charred door frame.

This space was at the back of several of the rooms. At first I thought it was a closet but I think it may have been the utility closet where the hot water heater and room furnace were housed.

Crumbling wall surface. More like stucco or thin concrete than plaster.

Roofless upper wall.

Light switches.

View back to the sign.

It was once a cozy place.

Other rooms.

The Breezeway.

Exterior socket.

Parking lot.

Enjoy,

Wander

Prerequisite

2009-08-18T23:18:42Z

Hurricane damage on the bay of Mobile, AL.

Chambersburg School, Chambersburg, IL

2009-08-04T17:37:45Z

This school was built in the late 1800's to pull together students from all the surrounding rural one-room schools. It housed grades 1-12 and even pulling in students from the surrounding townships class sizes were never more than 4-6 students. The town never had a population of more than a few hundred people. Still they managed to field baseball, basketball and track teams drawing membership from several different grades at once. Not all the regional schools had sports teams so often the high school teams played municipal teams from the surrounding towns. The Red Raiders as they were called had the distinction of setting a record for loosing by the largest margin of points in state history in basketball. 53 - 0 loss to nearby Perry high School in 1915. The game was played in a local barn because the school did not have a gym. In 1928 there were actually 10 boys of High school age and all were placed on the basketball team. They practiced at night in an old church with a dirt floor but managed to win the regional championship. It was the only trophy the basketball team ever won. The Gym and cafeteria were built in 1936 on the rear of the building. In 1956, the high school grades consolidated with nearby Meridosia to form Meridosia-Chambersburg High School which still exists today. The school remained open until 1960 servicing 1-8 grades. It has been closed since then. The building is now used for storage by a local construction contractor. A fire in the 1970's took out the gym and cafeteria but ruins of those still stand. I shot the school last summer.

Sad swingset.

Just a place to sit and watch the world go by.

Grimy windows.

Front entrance.

I was amazed it still had a light bulb.

Errant screwdriver?

Moving around back.

Fuel tank.

Exterior of the walkway from the main building to the gym/cafeteria. And a view of the rear of the school.

Outer walls of the gym.

A look down inside. it's a jungle in there.

Back door of the gym and back of the whole structure.

Back door to the cafeteria.

Inside the cafeteria now.

Sidewalk along the back.

From the rear corner.

Street side of the cafeteria.

Steps from the street to the back of the school.

A more recently added door to the front of the cafeteria.

Cafeteria from the front to the back.

From the cafeteria to the gym.

Tile and brick construction.

The connecting hall from the other side.

Metal stair up to the classrooms.

Broken sill and window.

Decaying support.

Last side of main building.

Interior views. Except for being filled up with junk it looks much like it did over 50 years ago.

One clear window with cord for pull-down shade.

Enjoy,

Wander

A Grand Living Room

2009-07-27T15:57:31Z

Off Highway 71W in the Hill Country of Texas.
Around 11am.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mojodragonfly/