This blog was originally posted in 2016 on my other site https://jwinnettcreative.com
In 2010 Nashville experienced a nightmare of a flood. The Cumberland River swelled and overflowed it’s banks and Nashville damn near floated away with it http://www.tennessean.com/story/news/local/2017/05/01/10-things-know-2010-nashville-flood/101039174/. To say the least many homes and businesses were not just damaged they were destroyed. July 4th 2015 fellow photographer Jay Farrell and I went exploring one such business, Bruce Hardwood Floors.
We entered the property through a large gap in the fence and quickly made our way into the interior. The musty smell of rot and dirt filled our noses. at least an inch or more of dirt covered the floor of the mill.
The first floor was bleak to say the least, there was a stillness in the air and an overall feel of stasis is what struck me the most. It almost felt as if I were standing in a moment of time where in a blink normal activities for the mill might resume.
An inch of dirt.
Look at that beam, it’s bent! As are the stairs. Those are steel and concrete!
No more sitting down on the job.
No one will be using the break room anymore.
Someone must have slammed the door on the way out.
After spending about 45 ins or so shooting the bottom of the saw mill it was time to move on up to the second floor. Light beckoned at the top of the stairs which was understandable since the wall of the structure was gone. Once again I was truck by the power of the flood that had destroyed this place. These stairs were no joke. A mixture of steel and steel-reinforced concrete that should have gone another fifty years with not a crack were cracked and the entire structure bent and warped.
Upon hitting the second floor Jay and I took a moment to appreciate the view the missing wall afforded us and the wonderful brush of fresh air. It was nice to take a break from the dank air of the first floor. Looking around however we decided we’d have to take out time walking about up here. The floor was to say the least dicey. There were large holes easily seen and some not visible until you were almost on top of them.
All that was left up here were machines too heavy to be hauled out for scrap
or too securely attached.
Inside the above structure we came across a large motor of sorts. Not sure what it was meant for but it was intriguing to look at.
Moving on to the rest of the floor we realized that there just wasn’t much left up here. We hit a few other points of interest, but soon due to the heat of the day and that one never wants to spend too much time at such a location we called it a day.
I hope you enjoyed this exploration by Forgotten Tennessee. If you’d like a print of any of the images from this set or any other set please email me at Jerry@forgottenTennessee.com so we can discuss size and price.
