Originally Named Tucapaue the mill opened in 1896. After being purchased by Walter S. Montgomery Sr. in 1936, the mill and the village’s name were changed to Startex. By the 60’s the mill had over 1,000 workers. Startex closed in 1997. What remains at Startex are two smokestacks in a field of bricks and debris. Unlike Glendale and Buffalo whose ruins feel anchored into the landscape, the ruins of Startex feel ephemeral, as if at any moment those bricks could reanimate and claim a new form. Fenced off and untouched since the demolition, these ruins have been left to the earth to repurpose; left to create new ecosystems and autonomous communities. The dam continues to sound out the same song.
