Good Friday Morning -
The winter is the time to try and find the abandoned and industrial things that I’ve been highlighting lately. The foliage of this place - the jungle that it becomes in the summer - can hide things that are right in front of you, which is what happened with today’s subject. Carmen and I had been by here multiple times on our way to the river, and never seen them, even though they are literally right beside the road.
While we were walking around and exploring these, a strange thought came to my mind - how long does it take for something to transition from “abandoned, blighted, eyesore” to “relic, historical, character”? I’ll admit excitement in finding these old coke ovens, and in their fantastic state of repair - some of the best I’ve seen in a long time - a different feeling than driving by abandoned river loadouts and tipples. Why is that? Time? The fact that the woods have retaken these, and other places in WV like Nuttallburg or Kaymoor in WV, does that make them “old and beautiful”?
Something to think about - these types of places become features on rail trails and such around the region - the destination on the ride. Maybe we should slow down on tearing some of the newer stuff down…
Hope y’all have a good weekend!
Abandoned Treasure? - West Virginia