Created at Monson Arts
All of the materials used were foraged from the “Moosehead Plant” and its surrounding area.
Monson was a slate mining town – evident by the numerous abandoned quarries and slag piles that run in a straight line along the mineral vein. Slate mining began in the 1870s and continued until the 1940s, when demand for slate lowered largely due to the invention of asphalt shingles and the diminished need for the material in electronics. Many of the mining operations ceased, leaving a nearby mill complex empty. The complex was repurposed and would become “Moosehead Furniture.” Moosehead made high quality handmade wood furniture until 2010, when it could no longer remain profitable primarily due to cheap imports. For a small community, the loss of this important business can still be felt. Since then, the plant has been left largely abandoned and has begun to collapse.
