Top 3 Abandoned Places In Norton

There are so many abandoned places in Norton! This is a list of the top three abandoned places in Norton. Browse through all abandoned places in Norton

1. Gone To the Dogs (School)

This former preschool was started in 1997 & quickly grew into a successful business. It expanded in 2015, and operated until late 2018. It won "Best Of" 5 years running, and ran programs designed to to assist cognitive and social development for children in the area. Unlike other private preschools, this facility focused on the independent learning experience of each child. The school was also the recipient of the 2009 Green Schools Award.

There is still power running to the property, and everything on the main building was locked up tight. Hopefully on my next visit, I'll be able to get inside, and it does look promising.

One very creepy & disturbing feature here is what appears for all the world to be a very large [b]grave [/b]out back. It's certainly not a garden! The small footsteps painted on the driveway are creepy too...shades of of Justin Parr's house. There's a figure 8 dog walk beside the garage, and several signs that dogs were a major presence here.

As with Houghton But Not Forgotten, the police are a regular presence in the area, but they aren't likely to bother you as long as you're not doing anything overtly criminal.

2. A Fore-Gone Conclusion

Norton Mini-Golf was a thriving venue that not only featured a challenging course, complete with waterfalls, a cave, and a lighthouse. It also screened outdoor movies in the summer, and had batting cages & bouncy houses.

Now, leaves clog the stream where the water flowed, the batting cages are gone, the cave sits empty, and only a few stray golf balls remain in residence. It's sad that this once hugely popular attraction situated along a busy road is now quietly decaying. It closed late in 2018, and although the website for it still exists (& lists the business as [i]closed[/i]...ironic, that), the whole thing has a feel of neglect and utter abandonment. The ball hopper on the 18th hole has been ripped apart on the back, and the few fixtures that are still there are broken.

This was a very easy one to get into, but it sits right beside a very busy active business.

3. Houghton But Not Forgotten

William "Billy" Houghton knew at a young age he wanted to be a dairy farmer. In high school, he was active in the 4H, raised cows and showed them at fairs and sold their milk. He served on the Board of Directors for the Bristol County Farm Bureau, and was a member of the Jersey Cattlemen's Association.

In 1959, he built a dairy farm at its current location, and farmed it until his death in 2014 at the age of 85. Since his death, the land has been unused. In 2016 a developer wanted to turn the land along with several adjoining properties into a business and manufacturing park. To date, nothing has happened with the development plans and it seems likely that nothing will in the future. The land sits adjacent to a major highway, but once off the highway, you immediately find yourself in a semi-rural setting.

Although I couldn't get into the house on the property, there's still [i]lots [/i]to explore. Each barn or outbuilding is lettered ([i]note the letter [b]C[/b] on the barn in one photo[/i]). The feed barns are cool, and there's a lot of interesting things that were left behind. The planner and milk bag in one of the barns were great finds. In one building, I found a very old book tied with string. It was so brittle that just moving it across the table it was on nearly destroyed it. The barrels scattered around were very homey, and the retro ceramic electrical conductors in the buildings highlight the age of the place. In the same building as the book, I also found the remains of a snare drum and a worn-out racing slick.

Part of what was once the farm was parceled off to become a preschool, which is itself abandoned & is featured in my location 'Gone To the Dogs (School)'. Spoiler alert...there are [i]grave [/i]happenings there.

One thing to be aware of...the police regularly patrol the area. When I was shooting 'Gone To the Dogs (School)', there was a cruiser parked right across the road. It looked like a radar trap, but you can't be too careful. Although they saw me taking exteriors, they didn't bother me. I must have looked non-threatening with my tripod set up and taking pictures.