Some new photos from Fort Wayne

gilead-district3school-1.jpg



This is the abandoned Gilead Township District #3 School on the northwest corner of Snow Prairie Road and Southern Road in rural Branch County, Michigan. Built in 1908, it is unusual in that it has four classrooms. Most small town and rural schoolhouses from that time period were one-room schools. It closed in 1945.

This placed acquired some notoriety in 1990 after a local man named Dennis DePue murdered his wife and dumped her body behind the old schoolhouse. The building was shown on the TV show Unsolved Mysteries, which aired a story on the case in hopes that viewers could help police locate DePue.

In 2017, someone set fire to the school, but it was not damaged badly as firefighters reached it quickly. When I photographed it at the end of 2024, there were for sale signs from a real estate agent in front of the building.

12-27-24
 
9-29-23-smithsgarage1.jpg



Smith's Garage is an old auto repair shop on the corner of of Walnut Street and Market Street in the small town of Poneto, Indiana. An old, faded, rusty Coca-Cola sign hangs between the badly faded signs for the garage.

Poneto is a very small town; the 2020 census showed a population of 173 people! The U.S. Postal Service does not deliver mail to the houses and businesses in such tiny communities. Residents have to go to the post office to pick up their mail each day.

9-29-23
 
12-27-24-church1.jpg



This former church stands on the northwest corner of Snow Prairie Road and Booth Road in rural Branch County, Michigan. The entire outside of the church is covered in modern siding that makes it appear to have no windows, and only a single door on one side of the building. The front steps lead up to a blank facade with no door!

There is a real-estate agent's sign in front of the building, indicating that it is for sale; so it is not abandoned. I wonder why they covered up the doors and windows with siding?

12-27-24
 
Chriscrawfordphoto said:
12-27-24-church1.jpg



This former church stands on the northwest corner of Snow Prairie Road and Booth Road in rural Branch County, Michigan. The entire outside of the church is covered in modern siding that makes it appear to have no windows, and only a single door on one side of the building. The front steps lead up to a blank facade with no door!

There is a real-estate agent's sign in front of the building, indicating that it is for sale; so it is not abandoned. I wonder why they covered up the doors and windows with siding?

12-27-24
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Perhaps to protect it? Possibly, the hope is that the building, once purchased, will be stripped of its siding and restored.
 
Chriscrawfordphoto said:
12-27-24-church1.jpg



This former church stands on the northwest corner of Snow Prairie Road and Booth Road in rural Branch County, Michigan. The entire outside of the church is covered in modern siding that makes it appear to have no windows, and only a single door on one side of the building. The front steps lead up to a blank facade with no door!

There is a real-estate agent's sign in front of the building, indicating that it is for sale; so it is not abandoned. I wonder why they covered up the doors and windows with siding?

12-27-24
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New siding can cover up a lot of bad exterior conditions. I've also seen this done before because the owners didn't want folks constantly coming to the door and wanting in. While not technically abandoned, the owners of this property have not been doing any upkeep as evidenced by the loose soffit and missing flashing. It appears there is a water seep in the lower corner below the electric meter.

PF
 
10-16-23-deweese1.jpg


DeWeese Appliances is an appliance store on Wayne Street (State Road 5) in the small town of Warren, Indiana. A banner on one of the two buildings occupied by the store says: "Troubled? Try Prayer!" The giant pumpkin on the sidewalk in front of the store was for a contest where people could win a prize by correctly guessing the pumpkin's weight.

10-16-23
 
11-6-24-biden-noway1.jpg


This old building is on the corner of State Road 124 and County Road 300E in Plum Tree, Indiana. The front and side of the building are covered in political slogans directed against Hillary Clinton and President Joe Biden.

• Biden No-Way! ("Biden" is written over "Hillary," indicating that it read "Hillary No-Way" when Hillary Clinton ran against Donald Trump in 2016).

• I'm Pro Life, U-R Pro Death (An anti-abortion slogan).

Plum Tree is not really a town; it is a rural crossroads with a name. All that is there is a warehouse, a church, a couple of houses, an abandoned antique store, and this building. Rural Indiana is dotted with many 'towns' like this that are still marked on maps today.

11-6-24
 
Chriscrawfordphoto said:
11-6-24-biden-noway1.jpg


This old building is on the corner of State Road 124 and County Road 300E in Plum Tree, Indiana. The front and side of the building are covered in political slogans directed against Hillary Clinton and President Joe Biden.

• Biden No-Way! ("Biden" is written over "Hillary," indicating that it read "Hillary No-Way" when Hillary Clinton ran against Donald Trump in 2016).

• I'm Pro Life, U-R Pro Death (An anti-abortion slogan).

Plum Tree is not really a town; it is a rural crossroads with a name. All that is there is a warehouse, a church, a couple of houses, an abandoned antique store, and this building. Rural Indiana is dotted with many 'towns' like this that are still marked on maps today.

11-6-24
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Note to myself: stay away from Plum Tree, Indiana.
 
Retro-Grouch said:
Note to myself: stay away from Plum Tree, Indiana.
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You won't be missing much; this is about all that's there. Really, though, stuff like this is everywhere in Indiana. There's a house about a mile from mine that flies a big flag that says in huge bold letters: "F--K BIDEN" and below that it says "AND F--K YOU FOR VOTING FOR HIM!." Some of the small number of Democrats here have "F--K TRUMP" signs in their yards, too; so it isnt just Trump's supporters being nutty. You just see more of them because everyone here voted for him.
 
9-24-04-molly-deck1.jpg



Molly was Grandpa's old gray tortoiseshell cat. She was born at his house when I was in high school. I made this photograph of her when she was 13 years old.

She was lounging in the shade on the wooden patio deck behind Grandpa's house. She used to sit there and watch the yard, looking for prey. She was the most predatory cat that I have ever known. She killed more than 9000 small animals, including at least two rattlesnakes!

9-24-04

Update: Molly died on April 23, 2010 at the age of 19. She had outlived Grandpa by one year and four months.
 
Chriscrawfordphoto said:
You won't be missing much; this is about all that's there. Really, though, stuff like this is everywhere in Indiana. There's a house about a mile from mine that flies a big flag that says in huge bold letters: "F--K BIDEN" and below that it says "AND F--K YOU FOR VOTING FOR HIM!." Some of the small number of Democrats here have "F--K TRUMP" signs in their yards, too; so it isnt just Trump's supporters being nutty. You just see more of them because everyone here voted for him.
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Plum Tree is America in microcosm. I want to move to a different planet.
 
2-27-20-parentroad-2.jpg


This barn has had a large American flag hanging on the side facing I-469 (The ring road around the city of Fort Wayne) for several years. The farm is on the south side of Parent Road, where it dead ends on the west side of I-469 in rural Allen County, Indiana.

2-27-20

Update: In late 2024, I discovered that a new house has been built in the field between the barn and the highway, making it hard to see the old barn. The American flag has been taken down.
 
Who was Dull Robinson? Heck of a moniker, that. Looks like some prime vintage lumber and slates to salvage there, but you'd be taking your life in your hands -- looks like it could collapse at any time.
 
KoNickon said:
Who was Dull Robinson? Heck of a moniker, that. Looks like some prime vintage lumber and slates to salvage there, but you'd be taking your life in your hands -- looks like it could collapse at any time.
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Rural roads in that part of Ohio have weird names. I have no idea who Dull Robinson was. Maybe the village idiot in Van Wert 100 years ago? lol
 
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