If you love history and creepy vacant buildings, lean in for a story about the abandoned cement factory in Baldwin, Michigan. This crumbling piece of Great Lake State history isn’t just a former cement plant but also an entire village that was vacated. This once-booming industrial town is now being reclaimed by nature and it’s hauntingly beautiful.

The Marlborough Historic District is the remains of a cement factory located on James Road in Baldwin.
Google Maps
The Great Northern Portland Cement Company building was constructed in the 1890s to make cement from local marl, which is rich in carbonate minerals, silt, and clays. Marlstone is created when it hardens into rock.
In 1902, the Marlborough cement factory hit its stride and the surrounding village of Marlborough, Michigan was constructed for plant workers and their families.
Great Northern Portland Cement Co, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
By 1905, 400 citizens called Marlborough home. The town consisted of 72 houses, an opera house, a school, a post office, and a hotel.
Unfortunately, the boom didn’t last long as the cement was found to be inferior and expensive to produce.
rossograph, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
And in 1906, The Great Northern Portland Cement Company entered receivership and the Marlborough village houses were sold off as salvage.
Kaitlin Finkler/Google

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The plant at one of the abandoned places near me was blown up with dynamite for scrap iron and in 1910, all that remained were the plant’s ruins.
rumple4skin/Google
Sadly, this huge cement plant that once provided work for many Michiganders has been left to rot.
John W Gawalt/Google
Graffiti litters the abandoned cement factory's concrete walls, which is both beautiful and creepy.
rumple4skin/Google
By 1971, the 80-acre plot of land and ruins were designated a Michigan State Historic Site.
Tyler Hecksel/Google
The Marlborough cement factory is now private property, so you won’t be able to explore the grounds.
But these photos give a glimpse into what the plant used to look like and how nature is reclaiming the land.
Ron Langeveld/Google

Although we aren’t able to visit, we can this fascinating footage of the abandoned cement factory in Michigan.

Do you know about an abandoned place in Michigan with an interesting past? Let us know about it by submitting a nomination form or providing comments below.

To find more forgotten spaces, take this cool road trip to some fascinating abandoned places in Michigan. And don’t rush off, while you’re in Baldwin, stay in a cozy Vrbo retreat, cabin, or cottage.

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More to Explore

Abandoned Places In Michigan

Carolyn Harmon | September 21, 2023

What are the most abandoned places in Michigan?

  • This abandoned village in Michigan may be cursed holding its only remains, a creepy old cemetery. Pere Cheney, Michigan was once a prosperous town, then in 1893 sickness struck. Folks died when diphtheria swept through, killing more again a few years later and almost destroying the entire population. The illness was brought on by a curse, some believe, from differing accounts. One says the town was built on top of an ancient American Indian burial ground and another blames the curse on the rage of a scorned woman who was banished from the town. Folks have reported unexplainable cold spots and orb sightings. Is this abandoned village cursed?
  • This eerie and fantastic footage takes you inside Michigan’s abandoned zoo. The Detroit Zoo first opened in 1910 on the charming Belle Isle, an island park in Detroit. In the 1950s, the zoo moved to its current location in Royal Oak. At that time, Belle Isle was converted into a children’s zoo until the 1980s when it was called Safariland. The combination of animal escapes and financial problems led the zoo to close in the early 2000s.
  • It doesn't get much creepier than this abandoned Presbyterian church in Michigan. The English Gothic-style Woodward Avenue Presbyterian Church in Detroit was glorious in its day. Construction began in 1910 and by 1921 it drew in more than 2,200 members. And what remains in the decaying debris is puzzling since it closed in 2005. An enormous pipe organ, stained glass windows, and decorative hanging lanterns remain in the dusty dwelling. Why are these valuable items left to rot?

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James Road, James Rd, Baldwin, MI 49304, USA