Towns and Nature

Wednesday, August 12, 2026

Jasper, IN: Jasper City Mill and Tourist Train/Southern Depot

Jasper City Flour Mill

Evan Nichols (Virtual Tours), Jul 2014

Historic Southern Indiana posted two photos with the comment:

Jasper City Mill c.1885 and today.
These are the second and third mills to stand on this site along the Patoka River in Jasper, Indiana. The first mill was constructed in 1817 by Andrew Evans, and in 1820 the Enlow family began operating it. The mill's most famous visitor was young Abraham Lincoln, who came with his father, Thomas, in 1828 to grind the family's grain.
The second mill, pictured in the top photo, was constructed in 1865 by the Eckert family. In the 1870s, the Eckerts began shipping flatboats full flour from the mill down the Ohio and Mississippi River and ultimately, to New Orleans. The mill produced 150 to 200 barrels of flour a day. This mill stood until 1964, when it was torn down due to flood damage.
The current mill was completed in 2009. It was built using 200-year-old mill stones from France and a 150-year-old waterwheel hub and gears from a historic mill in Virginia. The mill is open to visitors and sells flour produced on site.

I wonder from where the original water plume used to come from.

Street View, May 2025

This verifies that they do pump water up into the plume to turn the wheel.

Lisa White, Aug 2019

JasperIndiana
"The Jasper City Mill incorporates features of the two earlier mills, including a water-powered wheel and grindstones. The mill stones are originally from France and are approximately 200 years old. The waterwheel hub and gears were obtained from a mill in Virginia and are between 120 and 150 years old. The wood added to the waterwheel hub weighs approximately 5 tons and creates a functioning waterwheel with an impressive diameter of 25 feet. The workings are easy for visitors to observe."
They grind corn instead of wheat so they sell cornmeal instead of flour.

Tourist Train/Southern Depot

The train is not running in 2026 and may not run in the future. [SpiritOfJasperTrain]

The train cars, as well as the depot, are rented as event spaces. [SpiritOfJasperTrain]

Street View, Aug 2025

The locomotive is a restored 1952 General Electric 80-ton switch engine. [SpiritOfJasperTrain_about]

Street View, Apr 2025

The Southern Railroad had a spur that went North from Huntingburg to the resort town of French Lick. In 1978, Southern gave the track north of Dubois to the museum in French Lick. The Dubois County Railroad now owns the track south of Dubois. The Spirit of Jasper ran from Jasper down to Huntingburg. Norfolk Southern now owns the east/west Southern mainline through Huntingburg.

1958/58 Vincennes Quad @ 250,000

Tuesday, August 11, 2026

Seattle, WA: Manufactured Gas Plant Remnants

(Satellite)

West Side:

Street View, Oct 2012

East Side:

Street View, Oct 2012

North side:

Street View, Oct 2012

Playground:

Street View, Oct 2012

The building behind the playground in the above view evidently displays some of the machinery.

seattle

seattle, Photo by TIA International Photography

Eleanor Harris posted
@roamingnola on Instagram: “Abandoned Seattle that’s now a park. Gas Works park contains remnants of the only remaining coal gasification plant in the United States.…”

Industrial Fine Art posted nine photos with the comment: "Gas Works Park, located on the site of a former gasification plant, is truly unique! It's famous for its old industrial structures that have been left standing and incorporated into the park design. Instead of demolishing the plant, they repurposed it into a 19.1-acre public park, which opened in 1975.
Richard Haag, the landscape architect, designed it to celebrate the site's history, not erase it. You can see the rusting remains of the plant, some of which were even painted and turned into a play barn for kids, adding a really interesting, almost post-apocalyptic feel. It’s a fantastic example of industrial archaeology and offers incredible panoramic views of the Seattle skyline, Lake Union, and Mount Rainier.— at Gasworks Park."

Dumont, MN: Wood Grain Elevator

(Satellite)

Street View, Jul 2024

This elevator is huge. The wood elevator is over by the legs on the right side.

Street View, Jul 2024

Wesley Peters posted

Grain Elevator Photography Trip 2, North Dakota/South Dakota/Minnesota.

Dumont, Traverse County, MN.

Early history unknown.

Photographed on 7/20/2025.

Photo courtesy of Wesley Peters.

Chris Hennebry: One of two surviving grain elevators of that type along the Fargo to Ortonville branch. The other is in Tyler ND.

Wesley Peters: Chris Hennebry I wonder if it is a former Spencer Grain Co. house. That is who owned the elevator in Tyler at one time.

The railroad was the Milwaukee. Judging by a satellite image, the route is now abandoned.

1950/50 Graceville Quad @ 62,500

This looks like a town that has more bins than houses. Partly because of the farmer's grain handling system on the east side.

Satellite

Lititz, PA: Welcome Center/Reading Depot Replica and Wilbur Chocolate

Depot: (Satellite)

Store: (Satellite)

Original Factory: (Satellite, this was closed in 2016.)

Current Factory: (Satellite)

Street View, Nov 2021

They have a "caboose park" west of the station and the chocolate factory is across the tracks from the station.

Street View, Oct 2024

Peter Donato, Aug 2020

The retail store is a block to the east.

Street View, Oct 2024

Metrotrails posted two photos with the comment:

Then and Now Series: Historic 1884 B. Frank Saylor image of the Lititz Pennsylvania train station on the Reading and Columbia Railroad, compared to the same scene on our 2023 hike.
Built southwest from Reading in 1864, the Reading and Columbia Railroad was leased by the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad in 1870.
The original freight station in Lititz was at the former Ideal Chocolate and Cocoa Company building site, now "Wilbur Chocolate" or rather the Wilbur Hotel. The passenger station on the south side of the tracks was originally built in 1884, and then demolished in 1857 to made for a larger park entrance. However, a beautiful replica station on the same site was erected on the same spot in 1999. One difference is the modern station awning does not stretch as far as the original did.
Today, the tracks have been removed from a point just east of here in Lititz to Ephrata, and the right of way is the Warwick-Ephrata Rail Trail.

wilburbuds_history

The Hershey Kiss was 13 years later in 1907.

Mickey Barns posted three images with the comment:

Wilbur buds vs Hershey's kisses: Lititz, PA's chocolate tradition
Titles are generated by AI from Meta
Everyone knows the Hershey Kiss but do you know about the Wilbur Bud?
If you have ever tried a Wilbur Bud you definitely have an opinion on wish [which] is better.
Wilbur Buds were first introduced in 1893 by the H.O. Wilbur & Sons Chocolate Company, located in Lititz, Pennsylvania. Hershey's Kisses didn't hit the market until 1907. Although Hershey successfully dominated the mass market with widespread availability and its iconic foil-and-plume packaging, Wilbur Buds remain a beloved Pennsylvania tradition favored for their distinct melt-away quality.
*Wilbur Buds debuted in 1893, 14 years before Hershey's Kisses were introduced in 1907.
*Wilbur Buds are recognized for a rich, melt-in-your-mouth flavor, whereas Hershey's Kisses are sometimes described as having a grainier or waxier texture due to their specific ingredient profile and processing methods.
*Wilbur Buds can be purchased in both classic milk and rich dark chocolate. Hershey's Kisses are traditionally sold in milk chocolate, though seasonal varieties like almond and dark chocolate exist.
*Hershey's Kisses are famous for their individual foil wrappers and signature paper plumes. Wilbur Buds are not individually wrapped.
*Each Wilbur Bud is molded with the letters of the maker across its flat base.Availability
*Wilbur Buds can be bought at the Wilbur Chocolates storefront in Lititz, Pennsylvania, or via mail-order.
What Do People Think?

Mark Brewer: Here is the true test. Take one of each (separately) and put it in your mouth and hold it there. The Wilbur bud will melt and coat your tongue in delicious chocolate. Hershey kiss will just sit there and do nothing.

That's how you tell good chocolate.

wilburbuds_history
"When H.O. Wilbur first concocted Wilbur Buds in 1894, he hardly could have predicted his signature treat would be savored for generations.
Back then, chocolate was commonly manufactured as bars. His velvety smooth drops, made by pouring a rich chocolate blend into intricate metal molds, were a deliciously simple alternative. These “Buds” were named for their flower-like silhouette and came to fame for their rich, creamy flavor."
[Hershey Kisses are extruded instead of molded.]

Wilbur Buds Online

"In 2016, the production of Wilbur Chocolate at its longtime plant on North Broad Street was ceased, ending the site's celebrated 125-year run of creating the confectionery. Present owner Cargill Inc. established the Wilbur Chocolate outlet store across the street at 45 N. Broad St. and opened a Wilbur plant on Lincoln Avenue in Lititz, where white chocolate is currently manufactured. In addition to the sale of a variety of retail items, the outlet store creates some in-house delicacies that incorporate the use of Wilbur Chocolate. A lot of that chocolate, which has stayed true to the original Wilbur recipe, is being produced in Mount Joy, in Hazleton and at the Lincoln Avenue facility....In the early 1900s, commercial success expanded the production of Wilbur Chocolate from Philadelphia to Lititz. Before Cargill purchased Wilbur in 1992, chocolate was produced in Lititz for the better part of the 20th century." [TownLively]

The street view near the top of these notes is of the south side of the factory. This is a view of the north side. At least part of the factory is now a Hilton hotel.

Street View, Oct 2024

The railroad was the Reading.

1956/57 Lititz Quad @ 24,000

It is now a NS spur.

National Rail Network Map

The new chocolate factory is not rail served. I think this Pfizer plant is the only rail served plant in town. When I first saw "distribution center," I assumed yet another warehouse. But later I noticed the tank cars on the sidings. They at least package a liquid here. Perhaps they manufacture, as well as package, drugs. The jnj website does not list locations.