That mill would make nice condos or a nice arts retreat. It's build very soild.Is it for sale ? With the right permits it could generate electricity again. The roof would be expensive to replace. You guys are right about being clueless about machinery. You goof balls,that was a lab for the paper mill or for quality control.The ending would of been grate if the ladder rung broke.
I though so too. But after taking a day trip there, it is literally in the middle of nowhere, in a very remote and rural part of Massachusetts . I have AT&T Wireless and TMobile, and neither had any reception (literally zero bars) for 10 minute drive in either direction from Monroe. You could probably convert it, but would struggle to find anyone to pay any real money for a condo or apartment there. And the hydro electric dam right next to it is owned by a company that has a few more on the river. When I went, there was a ton of water flowing through the dam.
The dam is regulated year around. Other than winter this is a starting point for thousands of rafters and kayakers. Also you are a mile away from where the Yankee Rowe nuclear power plant was. I'm going out on a limb and saying the shower was mainly for mechanics that wanted to clean up before going home
The paper mill closed earlier than 1996. Not sure what year but closer to 1986. Definitely early to mid 80s. I grew up in Readsboro next town north of Monroe. Me and some friends got caught in there by a state trooper in 1991. Luckily, we only got a slap on the hand. The place seems to have accumulated a lot of junk since then. I remember something operating in there in later years but don't remember what. Thanks for posting this! pretty cool to see inside after all these years.
I saw the thumb nail and immediately knew where it was, Small town doesn’t do it Justice. It is right down the Road from the now gone Rowe Yankee Station. The Deerfield River produces lots of Hydroelectric for Eastern MA
Those massive drums fed the side press up above you they coated the paper with chemicals to give it whatever properties they were looking for. The chemicals were stored on pallets. The two smaller ones were wear you mixed the chemicals with water and boiled it .then you pumped it to the big vats and diluted it. They had multiple machines so you had to make sure you pumped to the correct tank
Really excellent exploration/video. this is one of your best I think. Really enjoyed seeing all of the mechanical artifacts left behind - pretty fascinating place. Both of you guys did an excellent job narrating and relating facts.
The first nuclear power plant in America was constructed in Monroe,Mass. There is a hydroelectric plant there that pumps water up to a lake during the night then when electricity is needed during the day the water is gravity fled down to turbines which produce electricity. There is a information center located on the west side of the river. Thanks for the video
Brady Sullivan in Manchester NH would turn this builing into apartments or office condo's. In fact they have pretty much renovated just about every mill building in Manchester and some in Massachusetts as well. They do some of the best work Ive ever seen.
642 the first room looks like the finishing room.when you went downstairs you entered the beater room .those lava stones for the beaters where 16 thousand pounds . 1200 that area was not for material storage it was where the shavings from the finishing room went down a shaft.like a big duct and just dumped on the floor. That would get put into the pulper. Picture a blender ten feet tall withe conical steal blades on the bottom filled with water shavings and lots of steam. Dont fall in dont let the shavings wrap around your legs and pull you in. There was also a big conveyor belt feeding it from below and a baler to the left of the frieght elevator 1233 is the machine room 1530 the door to nowhere went to the test room .it was cantilevered over the river.1635 I think that's the control for the big stack that winder was in the machine room 1813 you in the winder room those wonders had many rollers the paper would go through the hooks were for changing the rollers. They would wear out so you had to use that elevator and ride up pull the bad roller out lower it onto a dollyl push it onto the frieght elevator and bring it down to the machine shop directly below you 2011 not a loading dock also not a womans bathroom the only women employed there worked in the office
There’s some good scrap in there I would be getting out what you can it’s free Money. Then again I don’t know how many scrap yards there are out in western mass but over in the east we have a good amount of them.
Hey Jmass! Thanks for the shoutout! I know another mill you may want to see, it's knows as the "1 Ferry ST Mill". It's been partially redone but there's still some abandoned parts that haven't been redone, it's in Easthampton MA
Thanks for letting me know about this spot, it was so much fun to explore! And I’ll definitely have to check that one in Easthampton out… I’m not too familiar with it. Sounds interesting!
I was the nightwatchman in this mill forty years ago. It was a toxic smelly mess even then. There was water in the basement and in the winter it would freeze and when conditions were right it would create fog in the building. Very spooky at two in the morning.
Such an epic video! So many cool sights, loved seeing those grinders and rollers. Awesome remains of the once impactful mill. I doubt they would turn that building into apartments considering it would double the town’s population 😂😅
Thanks for this great video! I fish that spot all the time and have always wondered whats inside! Might have to take a peak for myself one of these days
10:22 pulp beaters, cut fibers not grind them 12:15 broke chute 12:46 2 paper machines side by side part toward beaters is wet end where sheet was formed, the rest is the dryers 17:26 rewinders takes rolls from paper machine and rewinds them to smaller rolls 17:35 whats left of a rewinder note: there would be no womens bathrooms 22:40 maintenance shop all the big pulleys would be line shaft for paper machine which sits right above it on next floor 28:56 tile covered tanks are pulp slurry stock chests and the others water tanks 33:36 lab and r&d The building torn down was probably the water wheels where they generated electricity a lot of the old mills stayed operational because of them there was a law that the power companies had to buy the excess electricity but they could not compete against the power company so they would under cut the price of the paper just to keep the water wheels going, they made more money from the electricity then paper there also would have been a boiler room where they made steam for water heating and to feed the dryers for the machines. I could not see signs of a pulp mill so that was most likely the first thing shut down due to environmental so they most likely bought wood pulp in bales from other companies.
I believe most people in and around Monroe commute to nearby cities like North Adams or Pittsfield for work, or work from home, but sadly there really aren’t any job opportunities in the town itself (save for hydroelectricity).
Obviously there were 2 paper machines side by side on those sole (sill) plates. Those pits were under the wet end of the machines. That was a Calendar stack. It would provide the finish on the paper. That bottom roll is the king roll the next roll on top of that would be the queen roll, then 7-8 intermediate rolls on top of those. These basement would house all the drives and drive the sections of the paper machines via belts. The tile tanks are pulpers driven from above.
Their were two calendar rebuild shops in w Mass, one in Holyoke (Holyoke machine) and one in Chicopee (the former B.F. Perkins, which later became Valmet paper machinery). I worked for Valmet for 21 years rebuilding calendar rolls of all sizes and also embossing rolls. That was a great company to work for, I have a 21 year pension from them. Valmet is still in operation but closed their us calendar shops around 2017 including the Chicopee location, and about a year or so later our former competition Holyoke machine closed. Our sister shop in WI closed around that time as well leaving to my knowledge one shop left in WI that does large calendars that serves what's left of the north east paper mills. A lot of the large mills closed, and our jobs went away as well.
Hi William, an era gone by. Paper mills gone , with associated machine builders and services gone as well. I also worked for a machine builder in eastern Mass for 38 years catering to the smaller paper mills. It was interesting viewing the abandoned paper mill, brought back a lot of great memories.
☡ SO technically the old hazen paper mill in Hudson mass is still technically active. But has alot of cool old equipment and it's pulp bat tanks still there. Having worked there about ten years ago, you maybe able to ask owners for guided tour. Reasonable people. Hazen paper also owns two other mill buildings north of Pittsfield, but the Hudson on is deemed historical and in origional shape.
If I eat Chinese for late supper, Mexican for lunch the next day followed up by Checker's Big Buford, large fries, Milk Shake of early supper My ass starts smelling like a paper mill before bedtime that same day.
Those are pulp machines, Hollander Beaters (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hollander_beater). too bad some punks smashed them. They're worth a lotta money if you're into making paper and could salvage it. But obviously not worth enough to anyone when the place closed.
2216 was the shop not that bad a job mostly you ran big ass lathes that cleaned up the roller for the collanders those belts on the floor weren't for powering anything they ran along the same route as the dryers when you got the paper from the wet end you'd toss the wet paper into the rope and it would feed it through the dryers they were big metal drums filled with steam dont get you hand caught in the rope or you could get sucked in or flipped on your ass
There used to be a "Prison Camp" in Monroe. Once, a guy, Shorty Nimblett escaped and hitch hiked into North Adams and committed a murder there. They shut the camp shortly after. Some foundations and a small dam (for water supply to the camp) remain.
Is this place off limits to the public? I am familiar with the area Hoosac tunnel Bear Swamp project.. I also have a question is there decent access to the upper reservoir of the Bear swamp project. Thanks Fred. Oh by the way I am a big fan of yours and the knowledge you bring to the places you explore
Thanks so much Fred! When I went there, I didn’t see any “No Trespassing” signs, no fences, and the entrance was wide open… it appeared to be completely neglected to me. Regarding the Bear Swamp project: while I am not entirely sure, I did drive by a public parking lot next to it that people use for viewing and hiking.
Hey Fred! My buddies and I went here last weekend, and although there was a plucky little "No Trespassing" sign, the place was - as Jacob said - wide open. We interacted with a very friendly local man who seemed OK with us taking pictures and such.
That mill would make nice condos or a nice arts retreat. It's build very soild.Is it for sale ? With the right permits it could generate electricity again. The roof would be expensive to replace. You guys are right about being clueless about machinery. You goof balls,that was a lab for the paper mill or for quality control.The ending would of been grate if the ladder rung broke.
That's exactly what I thought. You get the 4.5 million and I 'l general contract the project for you.
I though so too. But after taking a day trip there, it is literally in the middle of nowhere, in a very remote and rural part of Massachusetts . I have AT&T Wireless and TMobile, and neither had any reception (literally zero bars) for 10 minute drive in either direction from Monroe. You could probably convert it, but would struggle to find anyone to pay any real money for a condo or apartment there. And the hydro electric dam right next to it is owned by a company that has a few more on the river. When I went, there was a ton of water flowing through the dam.
The dam is regulated year around. Other than winter this is a starting point for thousands of rafters and kayakers. Also you are a mile away from where the Yankee Rowe nuclear power plant was. I'm going out on a limb and saying the shower was mainly for mechanics that wanted to clean up before going home
The paper mill closed earlier than 1996. Not sure what year but closer to 1986. Definitely early to mid 80s. I grew up in Readsboro next town north of Monroe. Me and some friends got caught in there by a state trooper in 1991. Luckily, we only got a slap on the hand. The place seems to have accumulated a lot of junk since then. I remember something operating in there in later years but don't remember what. Thanks for posting this! pretty cool to see inside after all these years.
I saw the thumb nail and immediately knew where it was, Small town doesn’t do it
Justice. It is right down the Road from the now gone Rowe Yankee Station. The Deerfield River produces lots of Hydroelectric for Eastern MA
Yeah, there was a major hydroelectric dam just next door to that mill… the Deerfield River is a very powerful source of energy!
Every place in MA that I’ve worked at has an Irving paper towel dispenser!
It still is a white water rafting area. See zoar outdoor or crabapple for info. I used to work for zoar for 25 years
those old catalogs and manuals are gold
One of the biggest problems with paper mills, was all the humidity from the steam and then drying of the paper over rollers. It rots everything.
Those massive drums fed the side press up above you they coated the paper with chemicals to give it whatever properties they were looking for. The chemicals were stored on pallets. The two smaller ones were wear you mixed the chemicals with water and boiled it .then you pumped it to the big vats and diluted it. They had multiple machines so you had to make sure you pumped to the correct tank
You two are clueless about all this equipment.
Really excellent exploration/video. this is one of your best I think. Really enjoyed seeing all of the mechanical artifacts left behind - pretty fascinating place. Both of you guys did an excellent job narrating and relating facts.
Thank you, this was definitely one of my favorite explorations I’ve ever done! Such a cool spot!
The first nuclear power plant in America was constructed in Monroe,Mass. There is a hydroelectric plant there that pumps water up to a lake during the night then when electricity is needed during the day the water is gravity fled down to turbines which produce electricity. There is a information center located on the west side of the river. Thanks for the video
Fascinating history, I wasn’t aware that the first nuclear power plant was located here! Thanks for sharing!
Brady Sullivan in Manchester NH would turn this builing into apartments or office condo's.
In fact they have pretty much renovated just about every mill building in Manchester and some in Massachusetts as well.
They do some of the best work Ive ever seen.
642 the first room looks like the finishing room.when you went downstairs you entered the beater room .those lava stones for the beaters where 16 thousand pounds . 1200 that area was not for material storage it was where the shavings from the finishing room went down a shaft.like a big duct and just dumped on the floor. That would get put into the pulper. Picture a blender ten feet tall withe conical steal blades on the bottom filled with water shavings and lots of steam. Dont fall in dont let the shavings wrap around your legs and pull you in. There was also a big conveyor belt feeding it from below and a baler to the left of the frieght elevator 1233 is the machine room 1530 the door to nowhere went to the test room .it was cantilevered over the river.1635 I think that's the control for the big stack that winder was in the machine room 1813 you in the winder room those wonders had many rollers the paper would go through the hooks were for changing the rollers. They would wear out so you had to use that elevator and ride up pull the bad roller out lower it onto a dollyl push it onto the frieght elevator and bring it down to the machine shop directly below you 2011 not a loading dock also not a womans bathroom the only women employed there worked in the office
There’s some good scrap in there I would be getting out what you can it’s free Money. Then again I don’t know how many scrap yards there are out in western mass but over in the east we have a good amount of them.
Hey Jmass! Thanks for the shoutout! I know another mill you may want to see, it's knows as the "1 Ferry ST Mill". It's been partially redone but there's still some abandoned parts that haven't been redone, it's in Easthampton MA
Thanks for letting me know about this spot, it was so much fun to explore! And I’ll definitely have to check that one in Easthampton out… I’m not too familiar with it. Sounds interesting!
@@j-mass let me know when you want to see it and I may be able to meet up and film a vid!
I thought it was all redone I was just there last Saturday for a wedding reception
You need a short course in videography. Moving camera around to fast.
Rice Barton they use to be on Grand Street in Worcester. Saw it stamped on the roller machine.
IS THIS VIDEO SUPPOSED TO BE SOME FORM OF "PUBLIC SERVICE"" ?????????????
Chemicals my buttt ! That was for people that don't go home, deticated wild men.
I find these abandoned mills and factories very interesting and like learning about their history!
Same here! I absolutely love learning about the pasts of the sites I’m exploring, and this one was especially fascinating!
Good work boys
I was the nightwatchman in this mill forty years ago. It was a toxic smelly mess even then. There was water in the basement and in the winter it would freeze and when conditions were right it would create fog in the building. Very spooky at two in the morning.
Wow! That sounds like a crazy experience; I can only imagine what it must have been like during the active years! Thanks for sharing!
Such an epic video! So many cool sights, loved seeing those grinders and rollers. Awesome remains of the once impactful mill. I doubt they would turn that building into apartments considering it would double the town’s population 😂😅
LOL yeah, I’m sure no housing is needed in Monroe! 😂 Agreed, there were so many amazing sights to see in that place! Definitely gonna go back!
Thanks for this great video! I fish that spot all the time and have always wondered whats inside! Might have to take a peak for myself one of these days
Thank you! I bet that’s a great spot for fishing! And the inside is truly fascinating to explore!
Great video guys
10:22 pulp beaters, cut fibers not grind them 12:15 broke chute 12:46 2 paper machines side by side part toward beaters is wet end where sheet was formed, the rest is the dryers 17:26 rewinders takes rolls from paper machine and rewinds them to smaller rolls 17:35 whats left of a rewinder note: there would be no womens bathrooms 22:40 maintenance shop all the big pulleys would be line shaft for paper machine which sits right above it on next floor 28:56 tile covered tanks are pulp slurry stock chests and the others water tanks 33:36 lab and r&d The building torn down was probably the water wheels where they generated electricity a lot of the old mills stayed operational because of them there was a law that the power companies had to buy the excess electricity but they could not compete against the power company so they would under cut the price of the paper just to keep the water wheels going, they made more money from the electricity then paper there also would have been a boiler room where they made steam for water heating and to feed the dryers for the machines. I could not see signs of a pulp mill so that was most likely the first thing shut down due to environmental so they most likely bought wood pulp in bales from other companies.
Wow, thank you so much for the details! This allows me to better understand how this factory once operated.
Oh boy I like that place
Same dude, one of the best urbexing spots I’ve explored thus far!
"true love swallows"-Unknown
they aint lying 😭😭😭😭
LOL 🤣
Artist colony, Condos.
The mills are abandoned; where is everybody supposed to work?
I believe most people in and around Monroe commute to nearby cities like North Adams or Pittsfield for work, or work from home, but sadly there really aren’t any job opportunities in the town itself (save for hydroelectricity).
Obviously there were 2 paper machines side by side on those sole (sill) plates. Those pits were under the wet end of the machines.
That was a Calendar stack. It would provide the finish on the paper. That bottom roll is the king roll the next roll on top of that would be the queen roll, then 7-8 intermediate rolls on top of those.
These basement would house all the drives and drive the sections of the paper machines via belts.
The tile tanks are pulpers driven from above.
Their were two calendar rebuild shops in w Mass, one in Holyoke (Holyoke machine) and one in Chicopee (the former B.F. Perkins, which later became Valmet paper machinery).
I worked for Valmet for 21 years rebuilding calendar rolls of all sizes and also embossing rolls.
That was a great company to work for, I have a 21 year pension from them.
Valmet is still in operation but closed their us calendar shops around 2017 including the Chicopee location, and about a year or so later our former competition Holyoke machine closed.
Our sister shop in WI closed around that time as well leaving to my knowledge one shop left in WI that does large calendars that serves what's left of the north east paper mills. A lot of the large mills closed, and our jobs went away as well.
Hi William, an era gone by. Paper mills gone , with associated machine builders and services gone as well. I also worked for a machine builder in eastern Mass for 38 years catering to the smaller paper mills. It was interesting viewing the abandoned paper mill, brought back a lot of great memories.
☡ SO technically the old hazen paper mill in Hudson mass is still technically active. But has alot of cool old equipment and it's pulp bat tanks still there. Having worked there about ten years ago, you maybe able to ask owners for guided tour. Reasonable people. Hazen paper also owns two other mill buildings north of Pittsfield, but the Hudson on is deemed historical and in origional shape.
Cant wait to go there! Love these videos!
It’s definitely worth a visit! Much appreciated bro!
Super cool video! I love the location
Thanks bro! It’s definitely a fascinating location!
If I eat Chinese for late supper, Mexican for lunch the next day followed up by Checker's Big Buford, large fries, Milk Shake of early supper My ass starts smelling like a paper mill before bedtime that same day.
Those are pulp machines, Hollander Beaters (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hollander_beater). too bad some punks smashed them. They're worth a lotta money if you're into making paper and could salvage it. But obviously not worth enough to anyone when the place closed.
Papermill probably has it's own chem lab there's a lot of nasty stuff used to make certain types of paper
2216 was the shop not that bad a job mostly you ran big ass lathes that cleaned up the roller for the collanders those belts on the floor weren't for powering anything they ran along the same route as the dryers when you got the paper from the wet end you'd toss the wet paper into the rope and it would feed it through the dryers they were big metal drums filled with steam dont get you hand caught in the rope or you could get sucked in or flipped on your ass
I lived 2 towns east on rt 2. Charemont. My Dad worked in Monroe .
I have been wanting to fly there. Only a short ride for me. Great FPV spot.
Oh i need to go here that mill is perfect for my new drone to fly inside
Constructive criticism. Slowly move the camera around. To fast is dizziness. Good subject but I had to move on as I found it hard to watch.
Understandable, that is a totally valid criticism! My cinematography is definitely something I want to improve upon over time. Thank you!
There used to be a "Prison Camp" in Monroe. Once, a guy, Shorty Nimblett escaped and hitch hiked into North Adams and committed a murder there. They shut the camp shortly after. Some foundations and a small dam (for water supply to the camp) remain.
Interesting, I never knew about that!
The machine uses felt
118???? This town is definitely gonna be abandoned in the future
Actually the population is up a little bit.
Is this place off limits to the public? I am familiar with the area Hoosac tunnel Bear Swamp project.. I also have a question is there decent access to the upper reservoir of the Bear swamp project. Thanks Fred. Oh by the way I am a big fan of yours and the knowledge you bring to the places you explore
Thanks so much Fred! When I went there, I didn’t see any “No Trespassing” signs, no fences, and the entrance was wide open… it appeared to be completely neglected to me. Regarding the Bear Swamp project: while I am not entirely sure, I did drive by a public parking lot next to it that people use for viewing and hiking.
Hey Fred! My buddies and I went here last weekend, and although there was a plucky little "No Trespassing" sign, the place was - as Jacob said - wide open. We interacted with a very friendly local man who seemed OK with us taking pictures and such.
Cool stuff !
Loved your Denny's in Danvers exploration. You should check some abandoned places in Gardner or nearby towns
Thanks man! And for sure, I’d love to explore more in the Gardner area!
A lot of forgotten history here in Gardner, I grew up in Lynn and maybe you could research and explore Dungeon Rock in Lynn. Would like to explore too