About

Born near Ashland, Kentucky, I developed an early interest in the built and natural landscapes of Appalachia. My work has focused on documenting the region’s historic architecture, industrial sites, and cultural landscapes through historical research and project-based photography. Now based in Indiana, I continue to approach Appalachia as both a subject of study and a lived place, emphasizing accuracy, context, and long-term preservation.
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The Websites

Abandoned tells the story of a forgotten America by documenting abandoned and historic sites through photographs, research, and field reporting. Launched in 1998 as Ohio Valley Abandoned, the project originally focused on northeastern Kentucky, southern Ohio, and western West Virginia, and has since grown into one of the largest and most comprehensive resources of its kind in the United States.

Bridges & Tunnels serves as a historical and photographic record of notable bridges, tunnels, and ferries in the United States and abroad, emphasizing engineering, context, and preservation.

American Byways is an exploration-focused website designed to help travelers discover lesser-known destinations, scenic routes, and distinctive waypoints, with an emphasis on natural wonders and overlooked places.

The Book

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Abandoned Kentucky presents a visual and historical record of the Commonwealth’s overlooked places, offering a window into everyday life as it once was and inviting reflection on the people and industries that shaped it. The collection explores sites such as the Columbia Theatre in downtown Paducah, the shuttered Union Station depot in Henderson, the Old Crow bourbon distillery along Glenn’s Creek, the Parker Tobacco Company in Maysville, and a once-prominent farmhouse in McLean County, tracing stories from one end of Kentucky to the other. Through these photographs, Sherman Cahal, Adam Paris, and Michael Maes approach abandoned spaces not as symbols of decay, but as places of lasting beauty, memory, and historical significance.

Purchase on Amazon.

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Trembleau Hall sits on a bluff above Lake Champlain at Port Kent, New York, built to take 125 guests with more in cottages o…
Bootleggers in Plattsburgh, New York, had miniature golf, batting cages, and bumper boats, all arranged around a stone citad…
A 1959 Chrysler Windsor sits in the woods, slowly disappearing into them. On its bumper is a 1967 sticker that once served a…
Clear Creek Furnace was built in Bath County, Kentucky, in 1839, and most of its iron went into railway car wheels. That dep…
Buckeye Furnace was finished near Wellston, Ohio, in 1852, before the railroad had reached the county. Several hundred tons…
Buckeye Furnace was finished near Wellston, Ohio, in 1852, before the railroad had reached the county. Several hundred tons…
The Pittsburgh Coal Company opened Mathies Mine near New Eagle, Pennsylvania, in 1945, naming it for Archie Mathies, a forme…
The Veterans Administration hospital at Brecksville, Ohio, opened in 1961 with 999 beds, a swimming pool, a gymnasium, and a…
The Veterans Administration hospital at Brecksville, Ohio, opened in 1961 with 999 beds, a swimming pool, a gymnasium, and a…
Albert Kahn designed the Stambaugh Building in Youngstown, Ohio, and it opened in 1908 with a department store on the lower…
Albert Kahn designed the Stambaugh Building in Youngstown, Ohio, and it opened in 1908 with a department store on the lower…
Albert Kahn designed the Stambaugh Building in Youngstown, Ohio, and it opened in 1908 with a department store on the lower…
After a strike in 1916, the Youngstown Sheet & Tube Company promised housing to workers who could rarely find any, especiall…
I was going on a casual stroll down Youngstown's West Federal Street with a friend years ago when I could smell the decay se…
I was going on a casual stroll down Youngstown's West Federal Street with a friend years ago when I could smell the decay se…
Rattlesnake Mountain in Willsboro, New York, gives back more view than it asks in effort. The trail runs about 2.5 miles rou…
The Dicks Road Bridge has spanned Clear Creek in Putnam County, Indiana, since 1915. What makes it unusual is how it was put…
The reconstruction of the West 30th Street Bridge over the White River in Indianapolis is complete, and it looks better than…
The 16th Street Bridge has carried traffic over the White River in Indianapolis, Indiana, since 1948, its roadway resting on…
The Henry Street Bridge will carry automobiles, pedestrians, and cyclists across the White River between downtown Indianapol…
New Jersey built its state tuberculosis sanatorium on a mountaintop in 1907, 950 feet up with a southern exposure, because d…
New Jersey built its state tuberculosis sanatorium on a mountaintop in 1907, 950 feet up with a southern exposure, because d…
The Highland Drive Veterans Administration Hospital opened above Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1953, built for returning vete…
The Hotel Belvedere opened in Apollo, Pennsylvania, in 1905, with oak fireplaces and mirrors in all twenty-eight rooms. Its…
The Boston & New York Air-Line Railroad was meant to run as straight as possible between New Haven and Boston, which is wher…
In 1824, New York required every county to build a poorhouse, hoping to bring order to a system of almshouse care that had b…
In 1824, New York required every county to build a poorhouse, hoping to bring order to a system of almshouse care that had b…
When the Hickling Power Station was completed near Corning, New York, in 1952, its 70 megawatts doubled the generating capac…
When the Hickling Power Station was completed near Corning, New York, in 1952, its 70 megawatts doubled the generating capac…
Prospect Street Presbyterian Church began as a Sunday school held in empty houses on the west side of Trenton, New Jersey, a…