St. Regis Paper Company- abandoned photography

St. Regis Paper Company

The final chapter in Grandma’s Legacy (Read Part One here and Part Two here)Thank you so much for taking this particular journey with me, while longer than most, it is for my beloved Grandma to take her “home”

As dusk fell upon us, our mission intensified as we tried to find our last stop. The St. Regis Paper mill, where my great-grandfather worked as a Chemical Engineer. Our mapquest search was coming up empty, but we knew it was in Deferiet.

How hard could it be to find? Ha! A lot harder than we thought.

At last, we came upon a neighborhood where a man was coming out through a gate toward the street. I rolled down the window and asked if he knew where the mill was.

He stared at me oddly, quietly.

I thought he wasn’t understanding what I was referring to. The joke was on me as he pointed to the other side of the street! A “duh” moment, if ever I had one.

This nice gentlemen, Harry, listened carefully to my desire to find my family history.

Harry told us how the mill had closed 7-8 years ago, and a buyer was demolishing it for scrap. He kindly said he’d ask his wife if she remembered anyone by the name Goodwill while I took some pictures.

We drove up to this massive place and I got out, taking in the reality that my very own great-grandpa would have walked down the same road.

If you have seen all my Abandoned Photography posts, you understand my passion for the story behind the buildings.

This building? It was a tiny part of my story. My grandma’s story, her father’s story. Part of the world my Grandma painted for me with my lifetime of questions.

I was standing in front of it. The paper mill.

And how very sad it was, to witness its crumbling demise. There was eerie silence, punctuated only by the loud dripping of water and who whoooo, who whoooo, echoing off the walls.

Here is the best surprise in this story…

When we drove out of the property, Harry was waiting at the gate. He gave us a house number up the street and told us to go see Janet Zando, the mayor. That he’d called ahead and she was expecting us.

So that is how we found ourselves one crazy day, sitting in the mayor’s kitchen, discussing Deferiet and the old mill.

Aside from being an engaging and generous hostess, turns out Janet was the mayor AND historian. In fact, she just happened to have authored a book all about the area. And the chances of that are….?

I bought two, one for Grandma and one for me. It’s not every day the mayor/author/historian autographs a book for you in her kitchen!

Janet gave us a fascinating history of this mill town, and was able to answer all our questions. At one time in history, this was considered a marvel in the papermaking industry.

However, as she explained, the needs for paper changed and so did the village as the industry faltered.

Several pictures in her book are taken the year my great-grandmother passed away. The people in them? They would have been the coworkers of my great-grandfather.

Who knows? They might have dined together, shared a ride, or worked on projects with Fred.

What an unexpected blessing Janet and Harry were on our adventure. The kindness of strangers toward a lady with a camera and a dream…

(As I amend this , 8+ years after these photos, I could never have imagined the interest this post would have sparked. For all who have stopped to share their memories, their loved ones, and the stories connected with St. Regis Paper Company, thank you!)

Check out Micheal Kleen’s video about the abandoned St. Regis mill here.

***IMPORTANT: Most places prohibit trespassing, for legal reasons. Zoom lenses are critical. For SAFETY reasons. I urge you to gain permission before photographing places of ruin. The floors, walls and ceilings might be unstable. There could be dangerous chemicals, depending on the facility. You might not be alone, and in danger.