So this past summer I was out in the hills of WV and found something off an old dirt road. Found some common household chemical so I'm pretty sure it was being used as a meth lab at one point, but that's not what I'm really concerned about (the garbage was old don't worry; I also always carry when I do this kind of thing for that reason). I realized in looking that I have no idea what the hell this couldv'e been. All that appears to be left is the foundation and basement of a ~20x30 building and I think a large furnace in the basement? I thought at first it had something to do with coal, but the location isn't exactly in the coalfields. It's right outside a town on the New River in Summers county. Last I checked the coal counties were at least an hour East.

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Anyone have any ideas?

If that large room was connected to a furnace it could have been an incinerator, like in this youtube video but on a smaller scale. Otherwise, perhaps it was a boiler plant or brewery of some kind with all the equipment removed? Whatever it is, it definitely looks industrial.

Was it near a river or railroad tracks, and do you have any more pictures of it?

Posted by Aran If that large room was connected to a furnace it could have been an incinerator, like in this youtube video but on a smaller scale. Otherwise, perhaps it was a boiler plant or brewery of some kind with all the equipment removed? Whatever it is, it definitely looks industrial. Was it near a river or railroad tracks, and do you have any more pictures of it?

I have more photos somewhere, but I haven't been able to find them.

There's a section of the C&O Railroad that runs through most of Summers County ( along most of the New River really). I though maybe it'd been a coke factory at first, but the furnace would have been way bigger, not to mention most of the coke factories were up north and closer to the steel industries in PA.

As much as I'd like to think it was a brewery, I promise you most breweries in WV that are off dirt roads like that involve a little mash and copper.

I've tried asking some of the local and state historians about what it could be and their answer is always something related to coal, but they never have any backing to it. To the best of my knowledge most of our coal was shipped north or sent off to Amos Power Plant.

All of that leads me to believe incinerator or small scale heating furnace, but that still doesn't tell me what the hell this place was.

Have you tried checking out GIS data for the parcel? Not always, but it can often list current and prior owners. Having some names to plug into Google bitch might help you find your answer...

Here's a link to the WV GIS map. https://www.mapwv.gov/parcel/ Zoom in on your property, and it should be clickable to reveal property data that can help your search...

uh...pizzeria maybe?

Edit: Maybe I'm just hungry

shadeblanco, you were there and had better info than us to determine what was.
A smokehouse?

Friday Puzzle! Heck yes!

My morbid mind says crematorium, but it couldn't be that right?

I agree with blackhawk - a smokehouse/bakery ... maybe?

You should totally look up the property on the GIS Bitey left. Can't wait to hear what you find

Posted by blackhawk shadeblanco, you were there and had better info than us to determine what was. A smokehouse?

I didn't know if someone else could direct me where to pull more info. I didn't even know about GIS before Bitey mentioned it. Plus I was curious to see what others would speculate about it.

Posted by becckeez Friday Puzzle! Heck yes! My morbid mind says crematorium, but it couldn't be that right? I agree with blackhawk - a smokehouse/bakery ... maybe? You should totally look up the property on the GIS Bitey left. Can't wait to hear what you find

I dunno, there was a moment where I thought it might be too. Just seems oddly shaped, but I also have no idea what a cremation furnace looks like.

Posted by becckeez My morbid mind says crematorium, but it couldn't be that right? I agree with blackhawk - a smokehouse/bakery ... maybe?

There you have it; a dual purpose midget crematorium/smokehouse

What's under the concrete dome?
An incomplete outside view of the structure...
What was around it?

Posted by blackhawk There you have it; a dual purpose midget crematorium/smokehouse What's under the concrete dome? An incomplete outside view of the structure... What was around it?

Mmmmmm.... Smoked midget...... *drool*

I'm going with bakery/pizzeria. What all else is around it?

Posted by blackhawk There you have it; a dual purpose midget crematorium/smokehouse What's under the concrete dome? An incomplete outside view of the structure... What was around it?

The dome was what covered the brick furnace underneath. I didn't post too complete pictures of the outside because they pretty well show where the location is. But there's a dirt road (some barely maintained county road) and some other small houses by it and it looks I checked the GIS, and there is unfortunately no tax record on file and no other info.

Posted by shadeblanco there is unfortunately no tax record on file and no other info.

Bummer. Looks like we're going to have to settle with midget/pizza incinerator then....

Posted by shadeblanco The dome was what covered the brick furnace underneath. I didn't post too complete pictures of the outside because they pretty well show where the location is. But there's a dirt road (some barely maintained county road) and some other small houses by it and it looks I checked the GIS, and there is unfortunately no tax record on file and no other info.

The evidence is there.
Do some looking and digging*.
No one goes to that kind of trouble for no reason.
RR, canal or river nearby?
Near an old town?
An internal diagram would be helpful.


*literally

Posted by Juxobe uh...pizzeria maybe? Edit: Maybe I'm just hungry

^^this amused me

Posted by shadeblanco I thought at first it had something to do with coal, but the location isn't exactly in the coalfields. It's right outside a town on the New River in Summers county. Last I checked the coal counties were at least an hour East.

Summers County (particularly near Hinton) WAS coal country, but the mines were played out and abandoned in the 1950s.

To me, the structure looks like a lime kiln which sort of makes sense for the area. There are over 200 limestone caves in Summers and Mercer Counties WV.

For a lime kiln, you need 2 things: limestone and coal. You dump limestone into a fire, carbon dioxide is boiled out of the limestone, leaving lime (aka quicklime). That would explain the hearth midway between the firebox and the ash pit where the lime would be removed from the kiln.

Posted by Radio2600 Summers County (particularly near Hinton) WAS coal country, but the mines were played out and abandoned in the 1950s. To me, the structure looks like a lime kiln which sort of makes sense for the area. There are over 200 limestone caves in Summers and Mercer Counties WV. For a lime kiln, you need 2 things: limestone and coal. You dump limestone into a fire, carbon dioxide is boiled out of the limestone, leaving lime (aka quicklime). That would explain the hearth midway between the firebox and the ash pit where the lime would be removed from the kiln.

^This^
That crossed my mind.
A little digging around the furnace would verify it.
Remember to look for the site dump somewhere around the property.
A lot of cool relics can be found... old glass bottles and more.

Posted by Radio2600 To me, the structure looks like a lime kiln which sort of makes sense for the area. There are over 200 limestone caves in Summers and Mercer Counties WV.

I like this idea.




Would explain picture #3, and why the door extends to the outside?

Posted by becckeez I like this idea. http://img.geocach...e-c16898944172.jpg Would explain picture #3, and why the door extends to the outside?

One thing I don't like is it doesn't have the typical beehive construction.
However I've seen squat lime kilns as well.

A rough internal diagram of this structure be nice...

A typical beehive lime kiln in W Texas; they predate the modern rotary kilns in use today.

You could also try asking around with the locals. Someone is sure to remember what it was.