Wilkinson Brothers Paper Mill: Shelton's Lost Pulp Mills

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Ghost Factories along Canal Street E and the Housatonic River Canal Street in Shelton, Connecticut, feels like a graveyard for American industry. Years ago, I walked down this very road to explore the Star Pin Company . Today, Star Pin is nothing but a cracked foundation and scattered rubble. But right next door, separated by a rusty gate, sits another forgotten giant. I arrived too late to see any leftover machinery or the previous tenant's last setups. Cleanup crews had already taken over the site. Grey duct tape and thick plastic sheeting sealed off the window frames and doorways. Abatement workers were busy removing asbestos from the ancient boiler pipes. Nature had already started claiming the site, too. Back in 2018, the local news reported that a section of the back building simply fell into the Housatonic River. Since then, the property has been used mostly for storage. Still, slipping inside was surprisingly easy. I came here on a mission. I wanted to find a hidden pi...
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Concrete City








When the concrete doesn't set in.

I never thought this local city whenever I drove to a nearby state ever had any abandoned places for me to visit as I headed north. To my surprise, I came across a well-documented property within the city with real photos of the vacant property in all its glory. On a leisurely Sunday morning, I headed up to my usual haunts and stopped over on my way. Getting onto the property was at first tricky. A and I were about to risk it entering from another part of the property but we decided not to and boy did it turn in our favor. We found our way in by a well-worn path down the road and walked onto the site with abandon.



















Inside, documented information on the property was correct. The concrete equipment was hauled away during an auction and all that was left was two smaller buildings, one rusted machinery on top of a concrete block and a graffiti-tagged commercial long-haul trailer. The saleable equipment had already left the building. What was left of the remaining auction pieces was a lease which no one wanted apparently at this waterfront property.





Zombies inside? Too much Walking Dead?















According to the history of this place, the company was having financial difficulties for several years before bellying up. Striking workers were a present site outside the facility. Now, the property languishes, no longer mixing materials for solid foundations.


When art imitates life. Whilst leaving another spot whilst here we had encountered someone coming onto the property. We scuttled up the hill and explored for the next 45 minutes before leaving. To our surprise, we met an established artist who had a passion for painting abandoned spaces on canvas. We chatted for a bit and was thoroughly impressed. Here was someone who didn't create art by using a camera but manually drawing with her very hands. Sometimes you meet other explorers, other times you meet painters.





































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