Jay Farrell and myself were tooling down the backroads around Bethpage, randomly taking a right or a left at will. We’re going up one road when we see what can only be an abandoned homestead. A large weed choked piece of machinery sits out front, so does a 12 foot tap plastic tank with a huge tire. We go app the drive way walk through the dead overgrown foliage and make our way to the house.

The paint on the outer walls is cracked, the windows stare at the road like an eyeless skull. Bags lay discarded on the shattered concrete porch like old memories that have been rudely cast aside.

There is no telling when this house was last inhabited. When was the last time someone leaned against a porch post sipping iced tea and taking in the day; could they know the fate that awaited this once proud house?

No more fires will warm this hearth, no cold evenings denied by the company of others.

In through the outside and back out again goes the mouse, the cat the bat and the wind too for all the doors are open and all the glass is gone, only refuse remains.

No more cries and screams of merriment, anger or any emotion fills these rooms. Only the wind sounds now.

I can’t say for sure but I’m sure the cupboards are empty and the stove no longer works.

Every room is empty

Every room is full.

The locks once strong and sure have sprung open as their guts were filled with rust.

Come in, lay your head down and stay awhile. No one will wake you.

Any who once would have done so are now gone.

 

Christmas Eve Jay Farrell and myself went on a drive through Bethpage and Hartsville, TN. In Hartsville just off the square we came across a strange neighborhood. Within the neighborhood it seemed as if there were houses that had been consumed within the neighborhood. Here and there we came across houses, old hoses that had fallen to misuse, age and in some cases fire. But within this neighborhood I spied a gem. I had Jay pull over while I got out and shot a church that looked as if it were being reclaimed from the elements that had destroyed neighboring homes. I went up the stairs that led to what once must have been an impressive church indeed.

The windows are boarded up, Paynes of glass are missing. The stairs are tilted and there is a crack running down them. But the lock on the door is new, the surrounding greenery has been trimmed back.

Who knows, perhaps the next time I visit Hartsville this church can go from Forgotten to reclaimed and filled with life again?

February 1st ForgottenTennessee. com will have it’s first show at the Copper Vault in Springfield, TN. ForgottenTennessee.com will be up for the month so should you get a chance you should come out and see it. The reception will be on the 15th 5pm-8pm. All together I’ll have 15 to 20 pieces up, most 18×24 a few other pieces will be larger. I hope you see you at the reception.

After meeting with HN James, the Copper Vaults Curator I decided to grab my camera and do some shooting. I started out with the Downtown area walking about with my camera and tripod.

Springfield has I noticed a large assortment of wonderfully eclectic buildings. The entrances and alleys of these buildings are really fascinating and I gravitated towards them. One alley in particular caught and retained my eye.

After about an hour of wandering the square I Spread outwards. And hit some roads near the areaI was in. I was not disappointed in what I found.

I found Springfield to be a gold mine of buildings to shoot! This was however not my first trip to Springfield. Previously I’d shot with a few models in a hulking abandoned structure that at one time had been a Wool Mill built in 1908.

This structure is so vast that the last time I shot there I realized I could shoot the location every day for a month and I doubt I could capture more than 1/2 the place. Sadly some of the wings have collapsed. I’d heard recently the Springfield Glass Co. had taken ownership of the building. I truly hope they can repair the structure and it would be nice if the State Historic Society could help repair it as well. This old mill is exactly why I started doing ForgottenTennessee.com

I hope you enjoyed reading this update and I encourage you all to stop by the Copper Vault to see my show Feb 1-Feb 28th. If you would like to purchase a 2018 ForgottenTennessee.com calendar you may do so at http://www.magcloud.com/browse/issue/1390399

 

That’s right! You can buy not one but 13 prints for $20.00! 13 beautiful photos from my travels down the backroads of Middle Tennessee including commentary of the photos.

If you want to buy this beautiful calendar visit the following address and step into the Tennessee’s faded and forgotten past.

http://www.magcloud.com/browse/issue/1390399

Tomorrow is Oct 28th. Unfortunately both Murfreesboro & Shelbyville Tn will be the sites for two White Supremacists rallies. They were not asked to come, they are not wanted. In the photo above are Aaron Dabney & Tyrone Dukes of Woods Viking Barber Shop in Murfreesboro, TN. I hope this photo says it all. NAZIS GO HOME!!!!

A friend of mine Justin Stokes is a treasure trove of curiosities. From ventriloquist dolls, old bottles to vintage tins Justin can be counted on to provide a subject to shoot. As the tittle suggested not everything I will be shooting for ForgottenTennessee.com is a building. Today’s subject is an old, old bottle that was once held embalming fluid made by the Dodge Chemical Co. Circa 1920.

When I drive to Franklin, or Columbia, TN I take 840. For years on my way back I’d see these two massive trees alone in a field and at their base were large stones and a gate. I’d no idea what the structure was, I’d assumed that the trees had perhaps grown out of the ruins of a large manor house. One day I took a drive along small road off of Blackman Rd., took a left at a Stop sign and another at the 840 sign. I tooled down this road as slowly until I came to the spot where the trees were standing. I parked my car to the side of the road and walked into the acreage that hosted the trees and large stone structure and discovered that no, these stones were not the foundation of a manor. Rather they made up the gate to a home of a different kind. The stones made up a wall and that wall surrounded a cemetery, a very old cemetery. I walked the gates and after a bit of looking about I realized I was standing in the cemetery of the founders of the Blackman area of Murfreesboro, TN! I’ll be adding more to this on Thursday. I hope you will come back and read it all and peruse the photos.

On one of my drives through Middle Tennessee I found myself on the side of the road drinking a bottle of water. In the distance I saw the peak of a roof and drove closer. As I drew closer I noticed the following the house was old, quite old. While the lawn was mowed I did notice that the house was covered, literally covered in Ivy. I stood there for a moment looking at the house and finally I grabbed my camera walked up and began to shoot.

As I walked around the building I read a sign at the front door and could not help but chuckle at it.  While you can’t read it in this image I can tell what it reads “No Trespassing”! I really couldn’t help but laugh, how could someone enter?

 

More Ivy…

and yet even more.

No idea if there was more ivy, too much overgrowth for me to find out.

If the eyes are the windows to the soul, what are the windows of an old house saying?

Recurring theme!

One last parting shot. It was a pleasure to say the least. Just glad I didn’t get too close, some of that ivy has to be poisonous! If you’d care to purchase a print(s) email me at jerry@forgottentennessee.comfor prices and details.

 

I included this photograph because it is a type of cemetery and like many in Tennessee it is always in danger of being forgotten. The main danger for this memorial is that it is off an old dirt road that used to be connected to Mill. Now the only thing that remains of the Mill is the Mills Dam and the road. That’s it. And to be honest I’ve no idea how old this memorial is. It could be new, or it could be decades old. The thing is is that this road is not well traveled or kept up. It could be that this marker has been overgrown many a time and its is cleared and relaid whenever possible. I do know that it’s a good twelve more into the woods which in itself is odd.

 

I just put up a page that details a day spent shooting on the grounds of the Tennessee State Prison which had been closed since 1992 for it’s shocking conditions. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tennessee_State_Prison

It was to date among the best Forgotten Tennessee experiences I’ve had. Below are a few shots but by all means read the full account by clicking on https://forgottentennessee.com/tennessee-state-prison-nashville-tn/

 

If you’d like to buy a print or two email me: Jerry@ForgottenTennessee.com