Pigeon Town: Redefining the River in Post-Industrial Appalachia

In May 2023, the Champion Paper Mill in Canton, NC, closed, ending the industrial relationship that had defined the town since the mill was sited on the Pigeon River in 1908.

Sixteen months later, Hurricane Helene delivered record-breaking flooding to western North Carolina, compounding economic loss with natural disaster. Pigeon Town approaches the former mill site as a design challenge in which the Pigeon River becomes the cultural and physical foundation for Canton’s next chapter. By addressing the river as an opportunity rather than a threat, the design proposes that Canton can cultivate new
roots from within and resist the imposition of an external identity, offering a case study for how post-industrial towns can use climate resilience funding to build culturally meaningful landscapes.