Urbex: Abandoned, Burned, Semi-Demolished Emge Foods Meat Processing Plant [72 PICS]

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June 16th, 2012 Permalink

Emge Foods Plant in Fort Branch, Indiana, is listed as “Emge Foods Plant: Tourists’ most wanted hotspots on Google Maps …” on Wikimapia. I was looking for urban decay, but discovered a previously burned and partially demolished Emge Food Processing Plant where an adventure included a little climbing and even a bit of caving . . . urban exploration is after-all a type of ‘extreme sport‘ and adrenaline rush. On Memorial Day, when it seemed most unlikely anyone would pay double-time for a security guard, a trip for an urbex adventure sounded fun. Once I got there, come to find out, it’s in the midst of being demolished. Just the same, I’d made the trip so little things like ‘no trespassing,’ security cameras and danger zone weren’t going to stop me. I spent the next three hours inside the place, armed with my camera, probably the very last urban explorer to go inside. I’ve done a lot of adrenaline rush adventures and urban explorations, but nothing abandoned, burned, flooded, and a pile of wreckage being demolished. It caught fire yet again a few short days after this trip. It smelled terrible in spots, old burned asbestos, and then stagnate flooded areas down below. Fairly treacherous. Good times. Had fun and wanted to share the abandoned slaughterhouse tour. [72 Photos]

Burnt time clock and phone time clock at abandoned and semi-demolished Emge Food Processing plant

Burnt time clock and phone at abandoned and semi-demolished Emge Food Processing plant. Before this urbex adventure of an abandoned and partially burned Emge meat processing plant and slaughterhouse was posted, the building caught fire. Again. It caught fire in 2009 as you can see by the toasted time clock — and the walls were partly missing in that room due to the wrecking ball. Knew I was the last urban explorer to go inside the place, but didn’t anticipate the fire. Photo #1 by Love These Pics

Abandoned and partially demolished, Emge Food Processing plant in Fort Branch Indiana

Looking forward to exploring urban decay in an abandoned building, so it was pretty shocking to instead discover a partially demolished Emge Food Processing Plant. Photo #2 by Love These Pics



Emge Foods slaughterhouse ramp and building

Slaughterhouse ramp and building. Emge’s started as a mom and pop butcher shop and in 1914 grew into the first Emge slaughtering and manufacturing facility. Besides all the blood from the slaughterhouse, the complex had a lot of bad luck with fire. The first was in 1922 and destroyed much of the original plant. This was rebuilt by 1928 and became a major meat packer for WWII troops and for the Midwest. The Emge Foods plant was sold in 1990 to Excel and it caught fire and partially burned again after it was abandoned in 1999. Fires in 2008, 2010, and in 2012 a few days after this was taken. Photo #3 by Love These Pics

Last run for the hogs into the slaughterhouse -- abandoned Emge Food Processing Plant

Once upon a time, this was the last run for the hogs into the slaughterhouse. Photo #4 by Love These Pics

Top of slaughterhouse run, forgotten chair at abandoned Emge Foods -- Processing Plant

Top of slaughterhouse run, forgotten chair. Still a little unsure how steady the building would be. It felt a bit like something could crumble next to your head at any minute. Got over that pretty quickly as adrenaline and curiosity took over. Photo #5 by Love These Pics

Inside derelict, demolished, Emge Food Processing plant 2 lonely chairs

First stop inside derelict and demolished slaughterhouse. Two lonely chairs. Photo #6 by Love These Pics

3rd floor concrete and cables hanging - abandoned demolition Emge Food Processing Plant, Fort Branch

3rd floor concrete and cables hanging. In the rubble were signs of green nature reclaiming the building before demolition started. Photo #8 by Love These Pics

Behind building by slaughterhouse ramp at abandoned Emge Foods

Behind building by slaughterhouse ramp. Shows all the places explored in coming photos. Photo #9 by Love These Pics

Concrete and cable on the edge of demo rickety room with a view at abandoned Emge Foods

On the edge of demo’d rickety room with a view. Photo #10 by Love These Pics

Abandoned Emge building with freddie's furnace at abandoned Emge Food Processing Plant

Freddie’s furnace, aka boiler room building, where the adventure started and then ended with blood. Photo #11 by Love These Pics

Signs of nature trying to move into abandoned building

Signs of nature trying to move into abandoned building. Photo #12 by Love These Pics

Do not enter -- too late

Too late for ‘Do not enter.’ Photo #13 by Love These Pics

Windows at abandoned Emge Food Processing Plant

Taking you around in the same order I saw it. Got this area from all different angles in the abandoned and partially demolished building to maybe help you know where you are in this tour. And to think I was after urban decay and urbex adventure, thinking to find aged machinery like years ago from the recreational trespasser. Photo #14 by Love These Pics

Distressed indeed but there were rooms that were much more distressed. Photo #15 by Love These Pics

Unknown purpose of room

Unknown purpose of room. Photo #16 by Love These Pics

Slaughterhouse work hour schedule at abandoned defunct Emge Foods

Slaughterhouse work hour schedule for December 1998. Photo #17 by Love These Pics

Keep door closed at abandoned Emge Food Processing Plant

Used no flash and no tripod to discover my head must be tilted and all the pics are slanted no matter if the floor was smooth or climbing rubble. There were brightly lit areas with so many walls demolished, but it’s a huge plant and deep inside there are pitch black places. Photo #19 by Love These Pics

Looking where I stood at abandoned demolished Emge Foods

Here‘s a picture of what Emge Foods looked like back in the day. According to a South Gibson K-12 School site, ‘Grandma’ started working at Emge’s Packing Company at age 18. “She started out working for $1.32 hour.” Photo #22 by Love These Pics

Condition of stairs at defunct Emge Food factory

Condition of stairs. Photo #23 by Love These Pics

4th floor on the edge and looking at freddie kruger nightmare on elmstreet building

4th floor on the edge and looking at boiler room building. Photo #25 by Love These Pics

Burned stairs and sign at abandoned Emge Foods Plant

Burned stairs and sign. Photo #29 by Love These Pics

Missing door 2 floors down

Missing door 2 floors down. Photo #31 by Love These Pics

Doors wouldn't open, stuck and scary noise rumbled floor at abandoned Emge Food Processing Plant

Doors wouldn’t open, stuck, and it made a scary rumble to the floor when I tried. Photo #32 by Love These Pics

Urban decay in the burned out shell of Emge Foods

Urban decay in the burned out shell of Emge Foods. Photo #33 by Love These Pics

Watch out for hole on 3rd floor at abandoned demolished Emge Foods

Watch out for hole on the 3rd floor. Photo #34 by Love These Pics

Down in a hole at abandoned demolished Emge Foods

Down in a hole. Probably the most dangerous and treacherous parts of the adventure. Photo #36 by Love These Pics

No exit here at abandoned Emge Food Processing Plant

Maze of twisted wreckage, but there was no exit here. Photo #37 by Love These Pics

Asbestos - smelled horrible down here, like burned building and ewww at abandoned demolished Emge Foods

Asbestos – smelled horrible down here, like burned building and ewww in between pitch blackness in belly of Emge Processing Plant. Photo #39 by Love These Pics

Darkness burnt at abandoned demolished Emge Foods

Darkness smelled very burnt. Ceiling of this room was crispy critter charred. Photo #40 by Love These Pics

Down below, but no exit paths, back into the darkness of abandoned dangerous demo'd Emge Foods Plant

Down below, but no exit paths, back into the darkness of dangerous demo’d building. Photo #41 by Love These Pics

Trapped in basement at abandoned Emge Food Processing Plant

Trapped in basement, same black wall with all the windows for your vantage point. Photo #42 by Love These Pics

Downstairs somewhere at derelict Emge Food factory

Downstairs somewhere. Photo #43 by Love These Pics

Around back main floor at abandoned Emge Food Processing Plant

Around back on the main floor, below slaughterhouse. Photo #44 by Love These Pics

Shows where I was standing inside building to take pics at defunct, derelict, demolished Emge Food factory

Shows where I was standing, climbing way up top through the inside building to take pics. Photo #45 by Love These Pics

Different perspective

Different perspective. Photo #46 by Love These Pics

Outside of Emge Foods boiler room

Outside of Emge Foods boiler room. Photo #47 by Love These Pics

Basement flooded and Fort Branch water tower

Basement flooded and Fort Branch water tower. Photo #50 by Love These Pics

Green office at defunct, derelict, demolished Emge Food factory

As soon as I noticed this green building in the center, I wanted to find it. Photo #51 by Love These Pics

Previous fire damage

Previous fire damage. Photo #52 by Love These Pics

Looking out the back of Emge

Looking out the back of Emge. Photo #53 by Love These Pics

Back of Emge slaughterhouse

Back of Emge slaughterhouse. Photo #54 by Love These Pics

Crispy wooden stairs at burned part of abandoned Emge

Crispy wooden stairs. Photo #55 by Love These Pics

Inside of green building -- abandoned Emge office, no support floor underneath - hollering hollow hollow hollow!

Really wanted inside that green building up in the air from the other demo’d side (#51), so that is it. It’s an office that looks like a tornado tore through. I had to get closer, and it didn’t feel very sturdy. Another urbex person was yelling, “Hey, there’s no floor support underneath.” Then hollering, “Hollow! Hollow, hollow!” Photo #56 by Love These Pics

Safety quality rust at abandoned Emge Food Processing Plant

Safety. Quality. Rust. Photo #58 by Love These Pics

Locker room knocked over at abandoned Emge Food Processing Plant

One of the locker rooms. Photo #59 by Love These Pics

Roped off up front at abandoned demolished Emge Foods

Roped off up front. Photo #60 by Love These Pics

Front of Emge Foods demo in progress

Front of Emge Foods demo in progress. Liked the tree on the roof because urban decay was what I wanted to take pictures of for preserving ‘history’s’ sake. 😉 Photo #61 by Love These Pics

Emge warehouse docks

Emge warehouse docks after a long section of pitch blackness. Photo #63 by Love These Pics

Abandoned, partly demolished, Emge Food Processing plant

Abandoned, partly demolished, Emge Food Processing plant. Photo #64 by Love These Pics

Shed behind Emge

Shed behind Emge Foods. A different building had VHS tapes, clothes and magazines dated in the 80’s and 90’s. Photo #65 by Love These Pics

Demolition of abandoned demolished Emge Food Processing Plant -- slaughterhouse ramp

Demolition of slaughterhouse. Photo #66 by Love These Pics

Left of defunct boiler room. Photo #67 by Love These Pics

1st stop, nightmare on elm street boiler room also last stop busted head open on rust at abandoned Emge Food Processing Plant

This was the 1st stop and it had a very Nightmare on Elm Street furnace feel to it. This boiler room was also the last stop and a reluctant urban explorer busted his head open on a rusty crusty corner of the furnace. Photo #68 by Love These Pics

Smokestack backwards

Head wounds bleed a great deal, but also provide for photos of the smokestack backwards. Photo #69 by Love These Pics



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