Abandoned Connecticut: The Twilight of American Industry

What is left after the last embers of an Industrial Revolution finally die? What do we find when we go sifting through the ashes of the past?

Connecticut was home to everything from textile mills to brassworks to coal-fired power plants. As these once-great industries of the American Northeast slowly dried up and gave way to a new landscape, they left behind a string of abandoned, forgotten facilities dotting the state. Now they have become galleries of graffiti, shelter for the homeless, and living museums of an often-clouded past.

In Abandoned Connecticut, photographer J. R. Washburn gives the reader a first-hand account of his time exploring these modern ruins. Over 150 haunting photographs and a running personal narrative put the reader in his mud-covered boots as he experiences the past, present, and future of these icons of American history.