ABANDONED MICHIGAN: Parchment Paper Mill, Kalamazoo County

The old abandoned Parchment Paper Mill sits quietly in Kalamazoo County in the town of Parchment, bordered by Eunice Avenue, Island Avenue, N. Riverview Drive, and E.G. Avenue.

The factory began life in 1909, when it was created and built as the Kalamazoo Vegetable Parchment Company by Jacob Kindleberger, along the east side of the Kalamazoo River.

To snag & keep loyal workers, the company began selling plots of factory land to the employees. Soon, little homes began to spring up in the early 1930's. These little neighborhoods soon grew, and by 1939, the community became known as the town of Parchment, named after the paper mill.

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The mill was never officially called the "Parchment Paper Mill", but it had plenty of other names. After it's genesis as the Kalamazoo Vegetable Parchment Company, and the years went by, the mill was sold to and merged with other companies, like the Sutherland Paper Company, Brown Company, James River Company, and Crown Vantage Company.

The mill finally shut down in 2000.

Now, what to do with the old factory? Someone deemed it necessary to begin demolishing it! The first building was torn down in 2011, and the remaining buildings have turned into playgrounds for thrill-seekers, vandals, spray-painters, trespassers, and ghost hunters.

Below are pictures and videos of the mill in it's current state. There are also pictures and a video of what the mill and town looked like at their peak in the early 1930's!

Scroll down and take a look at this piece of Kalamazoo County history!

NOW HERE'S SOME MORE MICHIGAN HISTORY!