After Benson Mines, this one was something of an impromptu explore halfway through a trip. We missed the exit onto 3A and took an unplanned detour into Carthage, when what to our wondering eyes should appear but a disembodied smokestack looking for its factory
We chased it through the village, and finally figured out it was on an island, which would take some searching for. The island itself ended up being completely overgrown in eight-foot tall grass, and filled with a minefield of old foundations. Adding to our woes it just happened to also be 94 degrees with the sun beating down on the island, and the river steaming with humidity. Eventually we thrashed our way through to the old mill, just to find that it had burned and collapsed many decades ago. Shit.
There was really nowhere to go; only the brick walls were still standing, the interior floors collapsed into one pile of rubble.
Overall, this was one of the (VERY) rare places I wouldn’t recommend going back to, and one with no redeeming value to justify the battle with the island.