ruins Archives – J. G. Coleman Photography

Hopewell Relics (Matson Hill Open Space, Glastonbury, Connecticut, USA) — “Hopewell Relics”
Matson Hill Open Space, Glastonbury, Connecticut
© 2016 J. G. Coleman

A towering smokestack rises above derelict masonry walls and empty window frames, all that’s left of the 19th-century Hopewell Woolen Mill. Morning light accentuates the angular ruins, imparting a subtle glow to the quiet meadows within where workers once busied about nearly 180 years earlier.

But while the Hopewell mill was built in the 1830s, these portions of its architecture weren’t visible quite like this until just a few years ago. The site was further developed by the mid-1800s just in time to begin turning out Civil War uniforms. Garments seem to have been the chief product for over a century until the old mill changed direction once again in 1956 in favor of manufacturing precision tools and jet engine components.

Despite storied, industrial successes at this old mill site on Roaring Brook, the property went vacant and was purchased by the town of Glastonbury in 2007. When it was slated to become a park, most all of the more recent factory additions were razed. Only the modest masonry and smokestack from the 1830s was left in place, skillfully carved out as if the site had been abandoned generations ago.

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Click here to visit my landing page for “Hopewell Relics” to buy a beautiful fine art print or inquire about licensing this image.

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Be sure to check out more of my work from Glastonbury.

Cotton Hollow Echoes (Roaring Brook at Cotton Hollow Preserve, Glastonbury, Connecticut) — “Cotton Hollow Echoes”
Roaring Brook at Cotton Hollow Preserve, Glastonbury, Connecticut
© 2015 J. G. Coleman

“Cotton Hollow Echoes”, one of my new pieces released this week, brings us to the shady depths of Glastonbury’s Cotton Hollow, where spirited cascades along Roaring Brook serenade the haunting, overgrown edifice of a long-abandoned mill.

There was a time when this stretch of Roaring Brook was the epicenter of South Glastonbury’s industrial might. From the 1700s onward, the river was lined with mills and factories that dammed the river, harnessing its strength to animate machinery. Cotton Hollow saw the production of everything from gun powder to boat anchors to its eponymous cotton textiles.

The Brook Remembers (Roaring Brook at Cotton Hollow Preserve, Glastonbury, Connecticut) — “The Brook Remembers”
Roaring Brook at Cotton Hollow Preserve, Glastonbury, Connecticut
© 2015 J. G. Coleman

But times change; so does technology. Once modern electrical grids eliminated the need for industry to be tethered to rivers, the crowded mills along Roaring Brook were slowly silenced. Boulder dams were eventually toppled. Woodlands eagerly reclaimed the river. Today, a quiet nature preserve occupies the very riverbanks where throngs of mill workers once labored amidst a cacophony of frantic machinery.

Purchase a Fine Art Print or Inquire About Licensing

Click here to visit my landing page for “Cotton Hollow Echoes” or “The Brook Remembers” to buy a beautiful fine art print or inquire about licensing this image.

Want to See More?

Be sure to check out all of my work from Roaring Brook and the forests of Cotton Hollow.