On 4/18/2020 8:32 PM, Daniel J. Matyola wrote:
The two here are in Clinton, NJ, just a few miles west of my home.
Those are both beautiful photos. The vast majority of the mills that I am photographing are not in good shape, because most have been abandoned. Even the very few that are still in operation, such as Vaughn's mill, are generally not attractive, partly because they have been converted to diesel of electric power, their flumes gone and their wheels abandoned and rotting or rusting.
One great feature of your photos is that you had the mill ponds and dams, and those water features are major parts of your compositions. As I continue to photograph SW VA mills I will very rarely find that. Most of the mill ponds and dams in this region are long gone. Many grist mills in this area were fed fed by wooden flumes carrying water for some distance. Still, I expect to find a few gems, but I don't expect to find any as nice as those Clinton mills. Both images are very good work.
I am sure that there were once many more mills in Clinton, but since population density is much higher there than in most of the area where I work unused mills there were probably generally torn down and the land reused. In an area like mine that is mainly rural some mills were still in operation anywhere from the '30s to the '60s. Since there was not a great demand for the land on which they stand their hulks often remain. Still, only a small percentage of the old mills remain standing. In an urban area such as the Roanoke valley where I live only one old mill out of dozens remains on its original site (and is still operating 'though greatly changed).
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