TheExplorographerBerkshire, New York is a sleepy little town about halfway between the two megatropolis cities of Ithaca and Owego, New York. Upstate New York is full of small towns just like Berkshire. Once bustling with business and industry, now just small hamlets with a smattering of homes, abandonments, and the families that used to work there. Many weekends are spent on the road just driving to see what I can see an this was one such trip. While heading towards a site that was suggested by a friend, something interesting caught the corner of my eye and I had to go check it out! After a few turns off the main road, I found out what it was…
…an old vacuum tower. This was an abandoned saw mill!! Although, I must admit, at the time, I had no clue as to what I was looking at other than a REALLY cool place to explore and photograph.
HISTORY
Stephen B. Howland, who is treasurer of Howland Bros. Company, Inc., of Berkshire, is recognized as one of the able and highly successful business men of Tioga County. He was born at Lisle, Broome County, October 25, 1882, the son of George S. and Sarah (House) Howland. George S. Howland was a native of Broome County, born at Nanticoke. He died in 1883 and is buried at Lisle. His wife, born at Truxton, died in 1920. Throughout his life Mr. Howland was a farmer and he died at the age of thirty-six years. Politically, he was a Republican. Four sons were born to Mr. and Mrs. Howland: 1. Herbert S., lives at Berkshire, where he is president of Howland Bros. Company, Inc. 2. Edwin G., lives at Berkshire, where he is secretary of the company. 3. William, who died in 1882. 4. Stephen B., the subject of this sketch. After attending the public schools of Lisle and Dresserville, Stephen B. Howland entered the employ of his brother, Herbert S. Howland, who at that time owned a machine shop at Dresserville, New York. After five years he came to Berkshire with his brother, Herbert S., and engaged in general machine work in a shop now owned by Edward Jewett. Two years later they erected a shop for the manufacture of keg headings for the Wickwire Mills of Cortland. Gradually, the business grew, and Edwin Howland became associated with the enterprise. They also conducted a lumber business until 1918, when their mills were destroyed by fire and they built another plant and gradually went into the manufacturing business. In 1926 the plant was again destroyed by fire and they built the present factory and the business was incorporated at that time. They are extensive furniture manufacturers and also furnish finished stock of various kinds to be used in the chairs and tables manufactured by Stackmore & Company, of Owego. The business caters to a wholesale trade and direct to stores, having salesmen on the road. Thirty-five men are employed in their plant which covers 22,000 square feet of floor space. Officers are: Herbert S. Howland, president; F. L. Aidrich, vice-president; Stephen B. Howland, treasurer, and Edwin G. Howland, secretary.
The Howland brothers were much more than furniture makers as well. In 1923 they filed a patent with the U.S.Patent Office for a Storage Battery Box as seen here in the original patent document.
The mill dropped it’s Stakmore contract in 1927 because the novelty furniture, shook stock, or semi-finished stock became so successful. It is said that during the great depression their business actually increased due to the low price of unfinished furniture. Income was generated by unfinished hardwood tables, hardwood dimension stock, and rough-cut lumber. Business continued through at least 1970 from what I can tell and the file photo dated then and seen here:
Thanks to Joan Hunt | Genealogical Researcher at the Tioga County Historical Society for the article and history background. Obviously it will be left up to our imagination how the mill got from 1970 to present day. Part of me wonders if the 1972 Agnes flood had anything to do with it.
The Explore
Very cautious at first, I made my way around the building. There were no visible “No Trespassing” signs, and the place looked very deserted and overgrown. The major roof collapse led me to believe the building has sat here unoccupied for quite some time. I parked right out in front of the place so if there was anyone around they would know that I wasn’t sneaking about and had a legitimate reason for my curiousity.
Making my way to the back of the property, and across a marshy area I found the first out building with what looks to be a giant industrial planer in the back!
What is that I see in between the breaker boxes?
Well, not much can bee seen from this angle. BUT, I can see that this machine is no planer, it’s a de-barking machine! Making more sense to me now with all of the mulch strewn everywhere. Let’s take a look at this monster!
Nice! From Niagara Falls, NY! The window has me curious enough to open the cover and take a look inside. Mind you, when I do this, something regularly flies out, startles me and I fall on my ass. Praying for a reprieve I unlatch the 6ft side-panel door and swing it open……Oh wow!
It’s no de-barker either, it’s a ginormous belt sander! I know I am weird, but I just love this kind of stuff! I could have photographed this thing all day, but much more exploring to do! Time to find the exit to this building….there it is!
Oooh, but what’s in the cabinet?!
Definitely some tools of the trade to keep the machines well lubed….and on the other side?
Yes’m, apparently the workers here were well lubed too! Things like this, are what I love about finding these old places… we used to not be so walled in, and we STILL got things done and in an amazing manner! So could this day get any better? Off to the main building, let’s find out.
Oh wow!! That is a resounding, “YES!” This must have been the receiving area for the raw rough cut wood. Brought in on these super-awesome carts! Carts, that were EVERYWHERE!
And my favorite shot from this adventure has to be this next one.
I just love the carts, upon carts, upon CARTS! Anyway, continuing on. The open room to the left of all the joyous carts is a different story. Apparently, some local has been feeding the stray cat population (stray rats too probably), as the entrance to this area is ankle deep in empty tuna cans!
The smell here….well…THE SMELL! I would love to get a closer look at the cabinet and sign on the right but decide that I do not have the proper hazmat gear on to do so. Moving on.
The next building to the right looks to be an old warehouse.
There were train tracks leading up to a bay door here. I am figuring that this would be where they would load up for shipments which was all train based in those days. Something we seem to actually getting back to. You gotta love taggers. Notice the swastika attempt on the left wall. Close! LOL!
Though the roof was pretty suspect here, I decided to inspect the structure. Around the corner I found what was left of the huge kilns here used to dry the wood. Here is a cell phone shot.
I no more snap this shot and a brief torrent rolls in. Pretty scary place to be when the rain is pounding. I had the feeling the rest of the roof was going to join me on the floor.
Thank goodness it lasted only a few minutes. There is another large warehouse to the west of the kilns and when I step in, I cannot believe my eyes.
Peering out the back door here reveals the rain has stopped but, the rest of the buildings are NOT explorable.
Time to head back out front and explore the office there that I saw when I pulled up. Through the windows on the front of the mill I can see an area that is not accessible to me because of the “tuna fiasco” earlier, and well, a minor collapse there in the back. Luckily, I can squeeze my camera through the window so I don’t miss this:
Attention temporarily averted I manage my way to the front door. Which is in great shape compared to the rest of the site. To my surprize the closed front door is actually unlocked. Carefully I make my way inside, concerned that I may find another collapsed roof. Sure enough.
You can tell this wont be standing long. The roof rafters are sagging terribly under the weight of that giant vacuum tower. To my right is a pretty cool item.
You really get an ideal here of how bad this building really is. Note: More tuna cans… what the heck? Since the tuna cans are starting to really freak me out, I say it’s time to go. A quick shot of the office before I go.. The ceiling in here is coming down as well.
I couldn’t resist a little Salvador action… There are a few remnants of business left here. Including this apparent clue to the Mill’s demise I found on the desk.
Apparently, they DID have a personal computer in the place. That would put them in business into the eighties at least. Much is left to learn. If you find my story and know anything more about the mill, I would love to hear from you. I will leave you with one last photo that I feel is quite poignant.
It’s really hard for me to understand how a site can be left like this. Obviously it has not been tended to for ages. The amount of waste sinking into the ground here is a crime. Repurpose this buildings or clean them up! This sort of thing should never happen. A cruel reminder of what is happening to our rural America.
~AD
My dad, Guy M. Sherwood) worked in the Howland Mill for 29 years. my brother, Ed Sherwood worked there over 20 years before it was shut down. How sad to see it in derepair
I remember as a kid growing up in Berkshire, going in there with a bunch of us and standing by the furnace at night with the night watchman and listening to stories about the mill. It was sad when it closed in 1997, I remember many people were without jobs.
Nancy Kobylarz that’s pretty close to you guys.
The black and white-labeled imaged provided by Joan Hunt shows my grandparent’s house and garage in the lower, left-hand corner. We lived right next door, just out of the shot. What a wonderful playground the property made after hours, much to the terror of my elders! On weekends we would often walk down to the mill and get a soda from the machine, hang out with the watchman, and wander the mill. To this day, the smell of fresh-cut lumber takes me back to those wonderful days of my childhood and growing up down the street from Howland’s Mill.
So cool Pamela.. thank you for the memories..
As a former resident of Berkshire, I remember another member of the Howland Brothers, Charles. I remember attending baseball games played on a field directly behind the factory.
In the mid 1970’s, when the mill was in full operation, we could take our Ford F-150 pick-up truck down to the mill and get a full pick-up load of saw dust + shavings for $5.00 if they loaded it….but if we hand shoveled our own load, we got the load for free…we used this for our 2 horse stalls, also in Berkshire, as we lived on Leonard Ave, just behind Lynch’s General Store…the Joseph Hudak’s…Joe, Joan, LuAnn + Judy…Sunshine, Apache + Sheba…the “Best Little Town” to live + grow up in!! It is so sad to see the loss of this thriving business, that supported so many in this community. The passage of time marches on….but those who knew + remember do not forget!!
I grew up playing in the shop on weekends loads of fun while my dad Charles Howland sharpened saws, did repairs and what ever else needed doing on weekends
Shirley, that is amazing!! I love hearing from folks like yourself. Thank you for visiting. Always bittersweet to share my stories of the afterlife of these places.
Eric Michaud’s comment is accurate…. In the first decade of the 2000’s I was one of those kids standing with Eric listening to stories from a man shoveling coal into a huge furnace. If my recallection is correct his name was Ralph… At least that’s what I knew him by. There was a soda machine by the front door of the main building the cheapest place to get a soda in town which was convenient as the coolest place to ride bikes was right there where the parking lot met the railroad tracks. We called it the dip. I remember exploring the property even before most of it collapsed…. This article has made a lot of good memories come back to me and I appreciate it.
Justin, thanks so much for the awesome comment. You and people like yourself are why I do the stuff I do. Much love!
I am a direct descendent of charles and bill howland . i remember feeding the boiler / kilm with the watch man. There was a sawdust bin next to the boiler . sorry it was not coal fed. I remembered the original saw mill cable drive . Untill the new mill came debarker and modern saw mill built. I remember glue tables that glued the lumber together to make table tops. Planes , saws , shapers , hardware assembly sections . It was a great enjoyment to go to the factory with my grandfather ( charles) . Especially on the weekends when it was not open. There was a lot of great people that worked there. It hurt my heart when Gary Shomback bought the factory at Charles and Bills retirement and it got ran in to the ground. I believed they had 60 + employees at the peak of time.
Kevin, as always, thank you for your kind words and history! Those who take over a business rarely do it with the heart and love of the person that started it. It rarely if ever works out unfortunately.
I own this place