I to travel down I-65 quite a bit. In a past life I was the Editor At Large for a publication called City At Night. I was also the guy who had to drive to Huntsville once a month to do press checks, and to pick up the publication. Since then I still travel I-65, but these days my trips are usually to find abandoned buildings. On almost every one of those trips coming and going I would spot what looked like an abandoned house off the interstate, and on a backroad. Sunday my buddy, and fellow photographer Jay Farrell, and I were on our way back from a fruitless trip to Birmingham, Alabama. We had struck out on finding abandon. Even our usual honey spot the derelict Carraway Methodist Hospital turned out to be a bust. The majority of the main building, and its satellite buildings were being reduced to rubble. We then tried our luck looking for the Chalkville School for Wayward Girls (a reform school). That was a bust as well, it too was in the act of being demolished.
With two locations gone for good, we decided to turn around and go back to Tennessee. However once we reached the Giles Country area we decided to get off at the closest Exit that wasn’t too far from the aforementioned house off of I-65. We went down several backroads and saw many an old barn, old rusty farm equipment, and a limitless supply of picturesque settings. While those were nice, we were looking for abandoned buildings. After going up and down several roads we came across a small collection of old homes, some of which were (possibly) abandoned. We took some shots then went back to looking for that one house that had captured our attention. So far our cameras had stayed in their bags, but now we had reason to take them out and do a little shooting. Upon getting out of our ride, I spied an aging old house that had to date back to the late 1800’s. Its architecture had that brooding quality I find appealing. But what really caught my eye was the mailbox that sat at the end of the drive. Sitting atop a brightly painted post was a rustic miniature green tractor, its grill served as the mail box’s door. Sitting behind the black steering wheel rode a wizened doll portraying a stoped old man in coveralls. It called to be photographed! Behind the little tractor was a small barn festooned with old metal advertisements. The overall feel of the location was warm, and spoke of times gone by. We took some shots, and then were on the hunt for the house that started our backroad exploration.
Not too far from the small row of old homes we’d just photographed, we finally came across the house we’d been looking for, and yes, it was abandoned. It was a gothic beauty. It had that old Victorian/Southern look that Civil War era homes had. The once white paint was faded and peeling. The lawn was overgrown, and a vintage 1960’S Ford Mustang convertible sat out in the midst of the knee high grass. A little to the right of the battered Mustang stood an equally aged and battered tree.
We could see the windows had been broken out, assorted brick-a-brac were easily spied from our vantage point. We stood slightly below the house, and yard. The house’s tin roof was covered in rust, and large birds soared above the roof and the trees that surrounded the back of the home. Did we go in? No. Not this time. We could see that directly in back and slightly above the old manse was a smaller, and newer home, and it looked like they were home. It had been a long day and neither Jay of myself felt like disturbing the whomever lived in the home above. So, we contented ourselves with shooting the exterior. Perhaps one day soon we may knock on the door of the home that is located directly behind this old manse, and ask if we may be permitted inside of it? I know we’d like to learn about its history. For now however, I can only share photos from the road. I do hope y’all enjoyed this adventure on a Tennessee backroad. Before you go, please leave a “like”, or better yet a comment. Good bye for now.
Forgotten Tennessee 
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