Lynchburg was once a thriving manufacturing and mill town. These are some of my photos from old and worn structures still standing from those thriving, bygone days.
Lynchburg was named for John Lynch who took over a family ferry service business at the age of 17 back in 1757. John’s father immigrated from Ireland, worked hard and was said to have prospered. After John inherited the family land from his brother, he petitioned the State of Virginia to found the city on that property which was known as Lynch’s Ferry Village.
Lynchburg with a population of 75,000+ is located along the James River between the Virginia State capital of Richmond and the city of Roanoke. In the early years, the James River and Kanawha Canal made Lynchburg a prime location for warehousing and shipping tobacco and other products to Richmond.
Late in the 19th century Lynchburg grew in importance with iron works, blast furnaces and steel mills. At the beginning of the 20th century, Lynchburg transitioned from a tobacco dominated industry to that of a steel foundry and became the largest shoe manufacturer in the USA south.
Though Lynchburg has diversified its economy, everywhere I strolled in the heart of the city resided abandoned factories and structures, some of which have been repurposed and refurbished.
