The abandoned silk mill in Lonaconing, MD is an eerie place.
The Klotz Silk Throwing Mill was built in 1905 to spin and dye silk thread, taking advantage of a local source of cheap labor -- the wives and children of coal miners in the nearby mines in western Maryland. In 1957 the Klotz company closed the doors in a labor dispute, and the mill has been abandoned since, left to the elements. The current owner permits groups of photographers to visit the building, for a fee, to step back into the world of 1957.
We were fortunate to have the chance to photograph the mill in the spring of 2013, and I will be returning soon to photograph it again and see what has changed during the intervening three years. In preparation for that visit, I have collected images from my 2013 visit in a new gallery.
There are more pictures from our 2013 visit on Carol's blog here and here, as well as a cool video that gives a sense of being there on a rainy day.