Abandoned history spans thousands of years, and it’s not just hidden in the crumbling structures of railroad towns and neglected asylums. Archaeologists’ careers are built on the forgotten elements of daily human life. Some of the most important discoveries about … Continue reading →
The dark history of mental health treatment lingers in untouched buildings and chilling stories. Little was known about the intricacies of the mind until very recently, and it took hundreds of years for less barbaric and more progressive therapies to … Continue reading →
In honor of Black History Month, Abandoned Country is republishing the following article, which originally appeared in The Virginian-Pilot and Daily Press on August 21, 2021 as “It’s been 190 years since Nat Turner’s Rebellion. Brutal mysteries remain unsolved.” One … Continue reading →
By Jessica Cole and Ben Swenson You would hardly guess by strolling down the timeworn Main Street in Pamplin City, Virginia that this small hamlet was once renowned as a giant in the manufacture of a very specific product. Today, … Continue reading →
A Wegmans on the edge of suburbia is not the landmark you’d expect to use to find ruins of a noble effort. Yet that commonplace monument of modern living signals the correct path to the remnants of a dream that’s … Continue reading →
A hint of a building sits startlingly against the trees in Hanover County, Virginia, quietly representing the history of our country’s arduous struggle for religious freedom. Polegreen Church was key to the 18th century movement known as the Great Awakening. … Continue reading →
The cool winds of year’s end often bring seasonal pleasures – the soft glow of winter lights, warm smells of baked treats, a general sense of cheer and content. But for the Barbour family of Orange County, Virginia, the holiday … Continue reading →
Resting in a dense New Hampshire forest are the stone ruins of a lavish dream. Madame Sherri’s “castle” lies lifeless and silent, but you can almost hear the laughter of socialites softly lilting through the trees that surround the site … Continue reading →
by Jessica Cole Have you ever dreamed of what your past life might look like? To venture back centuries and hear the sound of hooves hitting cobblestone – or at the very least, the opportunity to purchase incredibly cheap groceries? … Continue reading →
Not much happens in Croaker, Va., a rural expanse named for a noisy fish. Yet there on a sprawling property, amid mountains of mulch and tidy lines of row crops, is a curious assemblage of United States presidents. The 43 … Continue reading →
This is the last in a six-part, yearlong series called Disappearing Virginia in Distinction magazine. This story originally appeared in the December issue as “The Vanishing Melody of Swamp Music.” WET NOSES poke excitedly through the steel bars. The hounds are … Continue reading →
This is the fifth in a six-part, yearlong series called Disappearing Virginia in Distinction magazine. This story originally appeared in the October issue as “Prying a Living from the Water.” There’s no mistaking a place tied to water, even in … Continue reading →
This is the fourth in a six-part, yearlong series called Disappearing Virginia in Distinction magazine. This story originally appeared in the August issue as “The Treasure of the Tide.” The boxy old building hides its importance well. Its weathered clapboard siding is … Continue reading →
This is the third in a six-part, yearlong series called Disappearing Virginia in Distinction magazine. This story originally appeared in the June issue as “The Sons and Daughters of Slabtown.” The letter was bureaucratically frank. “I have been advised that you have refused … Continue reading →
This is the second in a six-part, yearlong series called Disappearing Virginia in Distinction magazine. This story originally appeared in the April issue as “Ghosts on the Water.” The Simon Lake was a vital pillar in the good working order of the United … Continue reading →
This is the first in a six-part, yearlong series called Disappearing Virginia in Distinction Magazine. This story originally appeared in the February issue. Pamunkey tribe member Kathryn MacCormick. Photo by Keith Lanpher. Tangier Island may be secluded, but it’s hardly alone. The … Continue reading →
When Melcenia Fields failed to retrieve her groceries, railroad workers knew something was wrong. Fields, inexplicably to all but herself, lived in the ruins of Beury, WV, one of dozens of company towns in the New River Gorge that residents … Continue reading →
No telling what compelled John Lawson and his gang to strip naked and wade through tangled underbrush and into the murky water, but we know with the benefit of three hundred years’ hindsight that if he’d moved north or south … Continue reading →
The listing and rusted vessel is what you’d expect to see at a scrapyard. What’s not readily apparent, though, is that beneath the cracked paint and broken windows lies an epic tale of disaster and riches, disappearance and discovery, greed … Continue reading →
A fire smolders in an abandoned coal mine deep underground. Gases seep to the surface through fissures in the earth. A blue-collar Pennsylvania town vaporizes, chased away by the blaze. But this is not Centralia, where subterranean seams of anthracite have … Continue reading →
