New Blog Site!

Hello all!

I am excited to announce to my readers that I have upgraded to a new domain and blog interface. WordPress is my new interface, and the new blog domiain is...

http://www.hiddenhudson.com/

All future posts will be at my new domian. I hope to see you there!

The Highway to Hell - A Lost Road in the Woods

Other ruins and foundations from Bradywine's past include the following pictures of a curiously hidden track of road in the middle of the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. This stretch once united Brandywine Village with nearby Boston and Peninsula by serving as a direct connect between Brandwine and Stanford Roads. After the creation of the CVNP in the mid 1970's, this track of road took on a different name - The Highway to Hell - after a cloud of rumours and mystery followed a forced abandonment of the once bustling town. (This is my teaser for Halloween. More to come on Hell Town, OH)

Ominous signs block any vehicle entry to the road. Notice the bridge in the photo to the right, situated just before the barrier and marked by guardrails on each side.

 The photo on the left is a prospective of the bridge and abandoned road from the trail surrounding Brandywine Falls. The photo on the right is of a curious fixture seen protruding from the creek-bed. Notice the three large iron pipes that mysteriously stop half way across the water. My belief is that these are remnants of utility pipes or some other form of infrastructure precariously built for growth that never happened.

 These final four pictures attempt to illustrate the eeriness of the abandoned road in its entirety. What is particularly interesting is that the guardrails were all in near perfect condition - no signs of rust or decay at all. The road, although in terrible shape, is very navigable and can serve as a great change of pace to the normal, cookie-cutter, over-populated paths to which the CVNP will typically direct park visitors.

The Forgotten Village of Brandywine

Over the weekend I had a chance to explore some lesser-known areas of Brandywine Falls and the forgotten village of Brandywine - a once bustling community that thrived off the natural power of the falls. The foundations of the village were laid in 1814 with the construction of a meager but productive sawmill that harnessed the power of the flowing water. Grist and woolen mills followed their bold predecessor, and in a short period of time the village came to be known as 'Brandywine Mills'. What remains is a modest tribute to the resolve and dedication of Northeast Ohio's industrial beginnings.



CVNP sign that greets visitors to the Falls. Notice the bridge and gristmill at the forefront of the picture. 





Photo of old gristmill on Brandywine Falls c. mid-1800's.

This photo is of the Champion Electric Company ruins at the top of the falls. Built near the ruins of the old gristmill in 1920, Champion Electric manufactured restaurant appliances here until 1937 when the building suffered catastrophic damage from a lightening strike. As the CVNP duly notes, "These cinder block ruins are from this last industry in Brandywine Falls."

The two pictures above show hidden remnants of Brandywine's forgotten industry. One can easily notice two parallel lines running across the creek, and two rusted iron eye hooks still embedded in the rock. For a great comparrison, scroll up and compare these clues to the old photos of the mill atop the falls.

Exposed brick from Brandywine's past on the bridge that spans the creek. This is what the simple bridge in the top picture evolved into as the community grew throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries.