The second hoist building ( or so we had called it ) was similar in form to the structure we had encountered earlier – only on a more grand scale. This building was easily twice as large as the other – the “H” shaped foundation of red brick was a good eight feet high. The whole structure was a good 20 feet square. If it was a hoist foundation, this one was a much larger machine.

Climbing over the outer wall, we found ourselves dropping down into the building. Around us, the redbrick foundation raised a good few feet above our heads. The brick had been heavily damaged, with large sections knocked away. As was observed in the earlier ruin, metal rods protruded from the foundation at various points along the structure – most of them cut off with a torch. Whatever piece of machinery once sat here was removed long ago – in the process they had cut the mounts clean off and took out most of the front wall.

Moving to the top of the foundation we could still see – even through the stain of time – the attention to detail and quality that the builders of this structure provided. The bricks were laid in geometric patterns that twisted and moved throughout the structure. Along the inside of the outer wall a line of bricks accented the dark grays of the poor rock around it. In the prime of its youth the building was sure to be a thing to see.

Dropping down off the foundation and through the missing section of the back wall we found ourselves standing under a power line. The pole supporting it looked very old and we weren’t sure that it was still in use. The glass insulators seemed to place its age, but a more modern looking transformer on another pole seemed to suggest otherwise. Looking behind us at the building we just left – we could finally appreciate its size and scope. The walls were a good 8 feet hight, and even in its present state of ruin – it easily dominated the landscape on which it stood.

As we moved through the brush and back to the road, I reflected on what we have just seen. Over a hundred years ago, man invaded the wilderness of this marsh and laid his claim to the land with the buildings and structures we can still bear witness to today. Even after man had vacated these buildings over 40 years ago and left them to battle the elements on their own – they have survived. And while those who created and built these buildings have long left this earth, their legacy still stands along the road in a place we call Osceola.