Industrial archaeology in New Hampshire, USA (Rolleiflex and Panatomic-X)

The Redstone Quarry in North Conway, New Hampshire, is an interesting place to see old quarrying equipment and the remains of buildings that formerly housed machinery or workers. The quarry last operated in 1948, so the site is overgrown and many of the buildings are gone. I recently retrieved some of my 2003 Panatomic-X negatives and scanned them. These are from a Rolleiflex 3.5E with 75mm f/3.5 Xenotar lens, all tripod-mounted. I exposed the film at EI-25 and developed the film with Rodinal 1:50. By the way, it was 35° C that June day, a real scorcher. I kept sweating into the viewfinders.

I have always enjoyed photos like these - abandoned run-down sites that used to be hubs of activity. Although it probably seems somewhat morbid, these photographs create t connection to a past which is never completely forgotten.

Kodachromeguy said:

The Redstone Quarry in North Conway, New Hampshire, is an interesting place to see old quarrying equipment and the remains of buildings that formerly housed machinery or workers. The quarry last operated in 1948, so the site is overgrown and many of the buildings are gone. I recently retrieved some of my 2003 Panatomic-X negatives and scanned them. These are from a Rolleiflex 3.5E with 75mm f/3.5 Xenotar lens, all tripod-mounted. I exposed the film at EI-25 and developed the film with Rodinal 1:50. By the way, it was 35° C that June day, a real scorcher. I kept sweating into the viewfinders.

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You used an interesting term in your title :"Industrial Archeology". A late friend of mine was an "Industrial Archeologist", mostly interested in reciprocating steam equipment and the first person that I ever heard use the term "Industrial Archeology". He would have enjoyed your pictures as did I. There is a good small museum in East Texas showing the early days of the giant East Texas Oil Field. Has an old photo studio from that era..........Regards!

I love this kind of art. Wonderful!

Thank you all for your kind comments. A Rolleiflex, a tripod, Panatomic-X film: how can you go wrong? As a comparison, here is the same pulley recorded on Ektar 25 film using a Rolleiflex 3.5F with 75mm f/3.5 Planar lens. I only scanned a few on this roll because I thought the bright green of the forest detracted from the shapes and textures of the industrial equipment. This was a setting where the monochrome works better. Some digital frames from 2012:
https://worldofdecay.blogspot.com/2012/10/industrial-archaeology-redstone-quarry.html

I find such photographs most interesting, but I would not call taking such photos as archeology.

Nicely seen. I have been meaning to check that place out someday. Maybe next summer. Will bring Rolleiflexes also! (though I don't have any Pan-x at the moment...)

EdSawyer said:

Nicely seen. I have been meaning to check that place out someday. Maybe next summer. Will bring Rolleiflexes also! (though I don't have any Pan-x at the moment...)

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Thanks to this post, I'm heading there this weekend!

I really like these.

On several occasions I've visited the small Cornish village of Pentewan where the port/harbour were closed to the sea since about 1960...but the harbour remains and some of the machinery to open/close the lock gate and the gate itself....all succumbing to the elements. There are also a few remnants of a narrow gauge railway that last operated in 1918 including a weighbridge overgrown with plants/bushes. Fascinating to photograph the stuff.

Some very fine images. I too am drawn to machinery in general, but especially situations of an historic nature. The intrigue is not just the machines but the textures, and occasionally the man-made vs nature we see in those sites. And I agree, monochrome often is the #1 choice.

Thanks for sharing.

PS. I like the color version as much as the B&W. Color is not a distraction.

lensman_nh said:

Thanks to this post, I'm heading there this weekend!

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I was thinking about that as well. I expect it might be very scenic if there is a little remaining snow cover.

Industrial Archeology and Historic Archeology are both pretty well recognized terms. I'm a big fan of both - my family was in the woolen industry and I'm fascinated by the development of early waterpower in our region. The mining industry has also left some incredible relics, and the intersection of the railroad system with both resource extraction and manufacturing has left some remarkable signs of the hand of man.

Andy

If you like this place, maybe check out Livermore Falls in Plymouth NH. There's some decent remnants of industrial mill stuff there, though not quite as good as it was several years ago.

AndyH said:

Industrial Archeology and Historic Archeology are both pretty well recognized terms.

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I never heard of "historic archeology". To me it is a tautology.

"Just" taking photographs is not archeology, as that means a scientific activity. That is taken photographs in a controlled manner. And using them in a explorative process.

AgX said:

I never heard of "historic archeology". To me it is a tautology.

"Just" taking photographs is not archeology, as that means a scientific activity. That is taken photographs in a controlled manner. And using them in a explorative process.

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Historical Archeology is a common phrase in the states. You can even major in it at some universities. It encompasses much more than just photographing - for example, reconstruction of the history of a site from the combination of architectural remains, debris, and written records. In general, the idea is to combine information from a variety of sources, including "digs" on historic sites prior to their redevelopment or being covered up by new construction.

Whenever I build on a site of some potential historical importance, I have to hire a "Historical Archeologist", preferably specializing in the era or type of site I'm developing, to discover whether some precious historical artifacts might be destroyed in the process, and to preserve either the artifacts or photographic records and documentation of them. My specialty is adaptive re-use of old industrial "mill" buildings, and I've been involved in several such projects at one stage or another. In another case, I redeveloped a building in such a way that the old secret room that was a stop on the famous "Underground Railroad" bringing slaves from the South to Canada would be covered up permanently. We took samples, a lot of photographs, and made sure that although access to this space had been eliminated, we didn't destroy anything permanently (i.e. No demolition at all inside the area - it's as it must have been in the 1850s, right down to the dust) but rather just enclosed without damage.

It's a fascinating field, in my opinion!

http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/research-collections/archaeology/historical-archaeology

Andy

Thank you.
Intersting to learn how much terminology varies.

Hi Everyone, I scanned two more of the 2003 Ektar 25 frames from Redstone Quarry. My Silverfast software does not have an Ektar 25 color profile, but the Gold 1000 profile works reasonably well. On these, I cleaned some spots with Pixelmator software. The detail captured in this film is quite amazing. (It helps to use a Rolleiflex on a tripod...)

The whole group are here: https://worldofdecay.blogspot.com/2019/11/industrial-archaeology-redstone-quarry.html

The black and whites are excellent! Now print, spot, and mount them, and give us a treat with a series in the standard gallery. The series would look great on the wall.

Arklatexian said:

You used an interesting term in your title :"Industrial Archeology". A late friend of mine was an "Industrial Archeologist", mostly interested in reciprocating steam equipment and the first person that I ever heard use the term "Industrial Archeology". He would have enjoyed your pictures as did I. There is a good small museum in East Texas showing the early days of the giant East Texas Oil Field. Has an old photo studio from that era..........Regards!

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My friend introduced me to an English Industrial Archeologist and his wife. They were in the area to visit the Oil Museum mentioned earlier. I am under the impression that the term "Industrial Archeologist" came to us from England...........Regards!