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...

Brooklyn's Secret Cove


 




One of Brooklyn's best-kept secrets or shall I say the most underdeveloped park in Brooklyn. Herein lies a small hidden cove home to an abandoned boat that has been permanently moored in this cove as far back as 2012. Will Ellis, AbandonedNYC's, writer and explorer, checked out this small waterfront way back in the day in 2014. In addition, Atlas Obscura also wrote a small undated piece on this abandoned vessel.

A couple months ago, a generous low tide allowed me to get up close and personal with this wet bucket of metal, plastic, and seaweed. I've always had it on my ever-long and expanding list of locations to visit since I viewed it on Will Ellis' website years ago when I was giddy with excitement when I first started exploring as a hobby and now as a serious life endeavor. I can see why it can be considered a "secret cove" since it is pretty much off the beaten path. You wouldn't know it was there if you didn't trudge through the grass and low and behold see the ruined vessel sitting on its side amongst the slippery mucky rocks.

According to Ellis' article, this waterfront was made possible by the nearby Verazzano Bridge construction debris which to this day stands quite mountainous from the shores of Brooklyn. If you would like to see dated photos from its construction, check out Dave Frieder's wonderful article here.

Status: Still within secluded cove...may have moved a bit or submerged again.

Sources:

1. Ellis, Will, "Brooklyn Wild: Gravesend's Accidental Park", February 2, 2014, AbandonedNYC
2. Frieder, Dave, "Bridge in the Back Yard: Construction of the Verrazano-Narrows", August 17, 2003, Forgotten New York
3. Kadinsky, Sergey, "Calvert Vaux Park, Brooklyn", January 22, 2017, Hidden Waters Blog






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