After exploring the awesome abandoned Osiris Creamery and Granary, I set my sights on an abandoned military base several hours east. I had another long drive ahead of me, but I didn't mind. It was a beautiful day and I couldn't get enough of the gorgeous scenery. Being behind the wheel on a long stretch of country road with not another soul for miles is an incredibly liberating feeling.
As I drove through the town of Antimony I spotted an interesting structure that looked like it had been built into the hillside. I pulled off the road for what would be the first of many unplanned stops.
The structure was quite different from most I'd seen before. It had sloping walls and a flat ceiling. I'm not sure why it was built that way, but there must be a good reason. I came across a handful of others with the same architecture.
I figure the shape might have something to do with wind resistance. The area experiences high winds, which caused a lot of trouble for early settlers. Structures that blended into hillsides might have proven an effective solution.
Quite a few artifacts remained inside, but I could only guess at what they were. If you have any info, please leave a comment at the end of the article.
Antimony and other towns in the region have experienced mining booms since the 1860s, and I suspect this building was used as part of a mining operation.
The equipment pictured below looks like it might have been used for separating ore.
[Edit: Thanks for everyone who commented here and on my Facebook page. The consensus seems to be that these buildings and equipment were used for sorting, packaging, and storing potatoes, which were a major crop in the area. The roofs were covered in earth to insulate the buildings and better preserve the potato crops.]
There were several old washing machines.
And some other equipment that might have been used for storing or separating mined ore [edit: or potatoes].
A few miles down the road I came to another building of the same style.
Some of the equipment inside was similar to what I'd seen inside the first building.
In Junction, Utah I stopped to take a look at an abandoned gas station.
I was surprised to find that one of the garage doors was open.
Several vehicles were parked in the corner of the lot. I was tempted to get a closer look until an unseen dog started viciously barking. I figured the property's caretaker might be living in the little trailer, so I didn't stick around.
Across the street was another of the sloping buildings, but in much worse condition than the others I'd seen.
Most of it the equipment had been cleared out. One piece still sat outside.
Piute and Garfield County are home to many ghost towns and very old abandoned buildings. I could easily have spent the rest of the day exploring the area, but I was eager to continue my journey to the Rust Belt.
Before I left the area, I made one more stop in the town of Circleville, which I'll tell you about next week.
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