Exploring the Abandoned Cascade Woolen Mill in Oakland, Maine
Back in September, I was in the Waterville and Oakland area. While I was down there, I wanted to scout out a couple of fishing spots, mainly, Messalonskee Stream. Reason being, is that I heard that you can possibly catch northern pike out of this stream.
I was trying to pick a good spot using only the Maine Gazetteer and Google Maps, using the satellite feature. I thought the Cascade Mills Rd. might be a good spot to check out, and looked like it had "sort of" a place to park.
Driving down the worn asphalt, I could tell the road doesn't get much use. Then I could start to see a long building on the left, and it looks like the wall was torn right off. On the other side of the road, there are old brick buildings that have fallen apart. Almost everything is covered in graffiti.
Despite the busy main road right at the end of Cascade Mills Road, no one came down this road. I didn't see anyone, and the whole place has a desolate, empty feeling to it. I didn't have much time on this day to fish, but I did do a few casts. I caught an average smallmouth on the first cast next to what used to be some kind of dam. After losing my lure shortly after, I drove down to the other end of the lot to try the stream down there with no luck.
Down here, are a couple of smaller buildings, and a larger 2 story building which looks like a garage. These are also tagged with impressive looking art, and momentarily distract you from all the smashed out windows.
I headed back home that evening, and decided to try this spot out again soon. Which I did, a couple of weeks later.
This time, I only spent a little time with some unsuccessful fishing. However, I spent most of my time checking out the abandoned buildings, and actually walking through them.
The first three outbuildings are small, and compared to everything else, they aren't in bad shape. I'm not sure what they were used for, but there are a lot of breaker boxes, and two of the buildings have some type of drains in them.
This time, I only spent a little time with some unsuccessful fishing. However, I spent most of my time checking out the abandoned buildings, and actually walking through them.
The first three outbuildings are small, and compared to everything else, they aren't in bad shape. I'm not sure what they were used for, but there are a lot of breaker boxes, and two of the buildings have some type of drains in them.
I then entered a larger building, and it seems to be a garage of sorts. There is an impressive mural of graffiti at the far end, a boat covered in pigeon crap, and a couple of side rooms. One room has a stairway, which leads to a boiler room, and the other, a bathroom, with a disgusting toilet. While walking towards these rooms, I heard a loud flutter overhead, and a large group of pigeons flew out through the broken windows.
I exited this building, walked through a yard with unkempt grass and random trees, and went into another building. It was obvious that there was some sort of fire here. There are many open spots in the floors, where you can see the crawlspace underneath.
Another room within the building looked like it may have been lived in at one time. There are blankets, pillows, and small propane canisters everywhere. There is also a room in the corner, some type of office at one time, with a couple of bookshelves full of technical manuals. They all looked to be in decent shape, considering.
To get to the rest of the ruins, I climbed down the bank to the stream, and was able to pull myself up into a small building. It looks like there used to be a dam here at one time, and the original footings are still in the stream.
In one last area, most of the building is gone, except for the floor and one wall. There's actually one room left standing, which I think was the records room. Maybe this room was reinforced, since everything else around it is gone. There are stacks of papers, and filing cabinets in here as well. It had old phone bills from the 90's, other bills, and even W2's laying around.
It is here that I found out the name of this place, which was the Cascade Woolen Mill. I looked it up online and found some information on it. From what I gathered, it was built in the late 1800's. Sometime in the 1990's, it closed down, and in the mid to late 2000's a big fire occurred and it all burnt down, except for what you see today.
I also found these old pictures on the internet, so you can see what it used to look like back in its glory days. I found these pictures on another website, and they are not my own. I didn't see anything saying I could or could not use them, but I will put the website address here, and they get full credit for the following black and white photos:
I would have never guessed that this is what it looked like at one time. A large mill that probably once employed many people in town, sold their products all over the country, possibly the world, now lays in ruin.
If you would like to see my walk through of the old buildings, check out my video below:
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