Stearns and Foster Company

 

Overview of the photographs

Eastern Complex Photographs (December 16, 2006)

Western Complex Photographs (August 23, 2006)

 

Check out the main Stearns and Foster page for an extensive history behind the company, along with many other photographs!

 

Once the largest cotton consumer in the United States, the company that became known for its mattresses and textiles was founded in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1846 by George S. Stearns and Seth Foster as the first factory in the United States to produce cotton wadding. In the late 1880s, the company relocated to Lockland along the Miami-Erie Canal.

 

The factory peaked in the 1970s with more than 1,200 workers. In the mid 1980s, the company became known as the Stearns Technical Textile Company, producing non-woven textiles along with insulation. In 1993, the mattress component was purchased by the Sealy Corporation and those operations ceased by September of that year.

 

Downsizings continued, and by 1999, the complex was operating with only a fraction of the employees it once had. In December 2001, Stearns Technical Textile filed for Chapter 11, and was operating with a skeleton crew. The company's consumer products division was sold to Leggett and Platt and was relocated to suburban Mason.

 

_{The western and eastern complexes were connected via elevated walkways. These also supported rails to transport goods from one side to another. Taken September 16, 2006.}

 

Fires were a mainstay at Stearns, or so it seemed. In 1994, a fire broke out on a third-floor production line conveyor line, which spread to the all-wood floor. 45 Lockland and Reading firefighters responded and the fire was promptly extinguished. Several years later, in 1999, a much larger three-alarm fire caused damage to the second and third floors of Building 35.

 

On May 1, 2004, several years after the factory had closed, a massive four-alarm fire caused extensive damage on the eastern half of the complex. It required 130 firefighters from 27 departments, and the fire was fueled by rain and high winds, in addition to the collapse of several walls and roofs. Firefighters had a dangerous and neverending task to put out the fire. Firefighters who entered the complex faced collapsing floors and a maze of corridors. Water pressure was non-existent in many cases, and a hose laid across a pair of railroad tracks was severed -- much to the err of all involved. An order had been put out to stop all trains from running through Lockland that ran adjacent to the factory, but five minutes after the hose was placed, a train came through.

 

Adding insult to injury, the fire suppression system at Stearns and Foster failed to work properly due to the boilers being deactivated.

 

On August 23, 2008, we were allowed access into the western complex that was mostly unaffected from the fire. The eastern complex had been demolished.

 

_{Compare the above photograph with this one, taken in nearly the same position. This was taken on February 3, 2008.}

 

--

 

1 This is approaching the section where the fire occurred in the eastern complex. The flooring becomes very much unstable past this point. Photograph taken December 16, 2006.

 

2 A modern structure on the north end provided additional capacity in the 1960s.

 

3 Packaging Facility

 

4

 

5

 

6 The cafeteria was replaced in the 1980s with Break Rooms.

 

7 This is looking along a rail that was installed in the 1980s to automate the process of sending goods from one side of the factory to the other. Workers prior to this would push goods from one side of the facility to the other in carts; this method expedited the process.

 

8

 

9 An old BMW!

 

10 Remains of the eastern complex.

 

11

 

12

 

13

 

14 Gordon Bombay, Tron 2.0, Oherian, Beth, Michael, Kim, Myself

 

Enjoy this set and be sure to check out the main article for the history behind the location, along with many more photographs!

Awesome stuff...you urban explorers you.

Seicer, I swear, you go places no man has dared to go before!  :wtf:

Heh. The Eastern Complex is where the fires occurred and were incredibly dangerous. The floors on the second floor were soft and rotting, and the third floor... well, we were practically crawling along the edge to get to a crossover in a vein attempt to get to the Western Complex -- although the doors were well sealed. :(

Heh. The Eastern Complex is where the fires occurred and were incredibly dangerous. The floors on the second floor were soft and rotting, and the third floor... well, we were practically crawling along the edge to get to a crossover in a vein attempt to get to the Western Complex -- although the doors were well sealed. :(

 

OK....Now I understand why your mom is overprotective.  You crazy!

Oy!

I'd hate to see the maintenance bill for that old bimmer...

Awesome thread, Seicer!!

That's awesome!  I drive by this thing twice a day and have wondered what it used to be and what it looks like inside.

 

Now I know, Thanks!!

Good stuff! It always amazes me when owners close a plant and just walk away, leaving thousands of dollars of serviceable equipment in place. In the photos I saw fire extinguishers and industrial-grade electric motors, among other stuff that could be reused, avoiding the resource consumption and emissions from making new ones.

Funny you notice that Rob.  I'm feeling those old school, grade school, cafeteria tables.  I was invisioning, deconstructing one, then rebuilding it in my dining room.

They had an auction, but according to the creepy, chain-smoking dude who let us in, a lot of the equipment was just too far out-of-date and small.

seicer -could you please email me at scottL(at)L2specialties(dot)com?  I have some urgent questions about this facility!

 

Thanks!