Muncie emerged as a factory city at the turn of the 20th century – becoming home to a number of glass manufacturers, iron and steel mills, industrial factories and fabricators, with a growing working class community – which continued to expand as General Motors and other auto-part makers invested in the town in the 20s. Half a century later, as Guardian photographer David Levene discovered when he explored Muncie, the effects of recession, foreign competition and changes in the labour market began a process of long industrial decline.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest The disused BorgWarner factory in Muncie Photograph: David Levene/The Guardian

The first site I visited was the former Chevy factory. There was nothing there except huge expanses of empty tarmac, left cracked by years of baking in the sun. Most of the area was fenced off but I was able to get through to a former parking lot. I was struck by the faint remnants of painted yellow and white lines, surrounded and hidden by flowering weeds and hardy grasses growing through the cracks and pockmarks. This set the tone for me for much of work I carried out over the next few days at other defunct factory sites around Muncie. I kept on seeing nature trying to take back these sites – David Levene

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Hartley Truck Parts, Muncie Photograph: David Levene/The Guardian

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Hartley Truck Parts, Muncie Photograph: David Levene/The Guardian

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Detail of a rusty old Diamond T truck Photograph: David Levene/The Guardian

Muncie’s industrial expansion continued into the 50s and 60s, but increased automation and the recessions of the 70s and 80s resulted in the loss of jobs which were not to return. Muncie was affected by the gradual realignment of economic power as cities in the south and west of the US grew, and the effects of globalisation with the industrial giants BorgWarner, Chevrolet and Delco Remy all eventually closing their facilities in the 2000s.

Chevrolet Facebook Twitter Pinterest Site of the former Chevrolet plant on W 8th Street, Muncie Photograph: David Levene/The Guardian

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Chevrolet plant completed expansion Photograph: Ball State University Libraries Archives and Special Collections

Chevrolet plant c 1950s. © Ball State University Library



Chevrolet’s plant began manufacturing transmissions for passenger cars and trucks in 1935. Rapid expansion followed in the 50s and 60s, and several large additions and new facilities were erected to house the plant’s growing product lines.

But as the US auto industry struggled with recessions and competition in the 70s and 80s, Chevrolet began a long process of layoffs and facility closings. The company finally closed its doors in March 2006.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Site of the former Chevrolet plant on W 8th Street, Muncie Photograph: David Levene/The Guardian

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Site of the former Chevrolet plant on W 8th Street, Muncie Photograph: David Levene/The Guardian

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Site of the former Chevrolet plant on W 8th Street, Muncie Photograph: David Levene/The Guardian

It has been estimated that Indiana has lost over 20,000 automotive manufacturing jobs since 1999 – Indiana Business Journal

Ball Brothers Facebook Twitter Pinterest The site of the former Ball Brothers Glass Manufacturing Co on W Memorial Drive, South Muncie Photograph: David Levene/The Guardian

Facebook Twitter Pinterest The Ball Brothers warehouse Photograph: Ball State University Libraries Archives and Special Collections

The Ball Brothers warehouse c 1910s. © Ball State University Library

There were a number of large firms in Muncie producing glass – such as the Hemingray Glass Company – but Ball was the glass brand that became a household name, with its glass canning jar. In its heyday the Ball Brothers plant produced 30 jars a minute, along with their lids and the cardboard boxes to ship them. It employed 2,500 workers at its Muncie headquarters in 1936.

But by 1962 production of glass moved to other locations, and the Ball Brothers plant closed down. Many of the factory buildings are now used by a company called Jarden, which continues to make products such as glass jars and lids.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest David Smith, 62 waits for a bus on W Memorial Drive, Muncie, opposite the site of the former Ball Brothers Glass Manufacturing Co Photograph: David Levene/The Guardian

David Smith, 62 waits for a bus on W Memorial Drive, Muncie, opposite the site of the former Ball Brothers Glass Manufacturing Co

That’s the foundry building where my grandfather Cecil Goeny worked. I myself worked in the factory as a janitor for two years back in 1975 before I moved to California. Now I live back here – David Smith



Facebook Twitter Pinterest The site of the former Ball Brothers Glass Manufacturing Company on S Macedonia Avenue Photograph: David Levene/The Guardian

Facebook Twitter Pinterest The old Batch Tower, one of the last remaining original structures for the Ball Brothers factory Photograph: David Levene/The Guardian

Facebook Twitter Pinterest The old Hemingray Glass Co which closed in 1972 Photograph: David Levene/The Guardian

The old Batch Tower, one of the last remaining original structures of the Ball Brothers factory, and the old Hemingray Glass Co which closed in 1972.

Marhoefer Packing Co Facebook Twitter Pinterest Site of the former Marhoefer Packing Co plant, Granville Street Photograph: David Levene/The Guardian

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Marhoefer Packing Co, Muncie Photograph: Ball State University Libraries Archives and Special Collections

Marhoefer Packing Co, Muncie, c1951. © Richard A Greene/Ball State University Library



The Marhoefer Packing Co was considered one of the 12 largest meat packing companies in the US. Started as the Kuhner Packing Co in 1901 and acquired by the Marhoefer family in 1945, it occupied 45 acres, with 12 building complexes and 380,000 feet of floor space, and was an important part of the local economy during its 33 years of business.

The company ran in trouble in the late 1970s as pork production became less profitable. Marhoefer Packing Co filed for bankruptcy in June 1978.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Site of the former Marhoefer Meat Packing Co. plant, Granville Street, Muncie, Indiana. Muncie, Indiana. Photograph by David Levene 5/10/16 Photograph: David Levene/The Guardian

Chevy and BorgWarner both stood quiet and calm, save for the rustle of trees blown by breeze. But the Marhoefer meatpacking factory felt sinister. The glazed brown brickwork of the building I found hidden in the overgrowth conjured images of meat and blood and here nature seemed to be reclaiming things more aggressively. I felt like I was walking around in a horror film – David Levene



Facebook Twitter Pinterest Site of the former Marhoefer Meat Packing Co. plant, Granville Street, Muncie, Indiana. Muncie, Indiana. Photograph by David Levene 5/10/16 Photograph: David Levene/The Guardian

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Site of the former Marhoefer Meat Packing Co. plant Photograph: David Levene/The Guardian

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Site of the former Marhoefer Meat Packing Co. plant, Granville Street, Muncie, Indiana Photograph: David Levene/The Guardian

A noticeboard inside the factory has lists of tractor allocations



BorgWarner Facebook Twitter Pinterest The disused BorgWarner factory in Muncie Photograph: David Levene/The Guardian

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Senator John F Kennedy in front of the Warner Gear factory in 1960 Photograph: Ball State University Libraries Archives and Special Collections

Senator John F Kennedy in front of the Warner Gear factory in 1960. © John M. Wells/Ball State University Library



Warner Gear of Muncie was formed in 1901 and developed the industry’s first manual transmission. In 1928 Warner Gear was incorporated with Borg & Beck, Marvel Carburetor, and Mechanics Universal Joint as the BorgWarner Corporation. In the 50s, the Warner Gear factory employed more than 5,000 men and women but the half-mile long and more than 1m sq ft BorgWarner factory has been empty since 2009. The Chevrolet and Delco Remy plants were demolished years ago, but at BorgWarner the water tower and main buildings remain still intact.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest The disused BorgWarner factory in Muncie Photograph: David Levene/The Guardian

Facebook Twitter Pinterest The disused BorgWarner factory in Muncie Photograph: David Levene/The Guardian

Facebook Twitter Pinterest The disused BorgWarner factory in Muncie Photograph: David Levene/The Guardian

Facebook Twitter Pinterest The disused BorgWarner factory in Muncie Photograph: David Levene/The Guardian

The disused BorgWarner factory with water tower



I started to actually meet people in the course of following up on the next three industry locations. Although they were initially reticent, I ended up speaking for hours with brothers George and Bucky at Hartley Truck Parts. It was so helpful to get an insight from a local who’d relied upon the business generated by Muncie industries for years. They let me roam around their yard taking photographs of all the old truck wrecks that had years ago been stripped back for parts and left there to be swallowed by creepers – David Levene

Hartley Truck Parts Facebook Twitter Pinterest Detail of a rusty old Diamond T truck from the early 50s Photograph: David Levene/The Guardian

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Fred Hartley and an employee on the original site of Hartley Truck Parts in downtown Muncie, 30s-40s Photograph: David Levene/The Guardian

Fred Hartley and an employee on the original site of Hartley Truck Parts in downtown Muncie, 30s-40s.



This yard specialises in salvaging truck wrecks, stripping and selling parts. Started in the 20s by Fred Hartley in downtown Muncie, before moving to this site in south Muncie in the 60s, after Fred died his wife sold the business to Billy Pierce. The company still bears the original name Hartley and is now run by Pierce’s sons, George and Bucky.

In the 70s and 80s, there were at least 10 trucking companies in the town. Now, as industry has declined, it is difficult for any independent trucker and trucking firm to survive.



Facebook Twitter Pinterest Truck graveyard Photograph: David Levene/The Guardian

A group of trucks in the yard which were salvaged from all across the US



Facebook Twitter Pinterest A decal on the side of one of the trucks in the yard Photograph: David Levene/The Guardian

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Detail of an old Diamond T truck from the early 50s

I obsessed over a rusty old Diamond T from the 50s. It was one of the few trucks here that had served most of its life in Muncie, as opposed to the majority of wrecks which had been salvaged all over the US. I tracked down the son of the original owner, Duey Hillman Jr, at the local post office sorting centre. He was surprised to see a stranger come in to ask him about the truck but was happy to tell me of his dream to resurrect the old thing and get it back on the road again – David Levene

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Bucky Pierce and George Pierce

When the factories left, the trucking companies left. This town is dwindling away. One time we had 80,000 people here – George Pierce, co-owner

Indiana Steel & Wire Facebook Twitter Pinterest Foundations for a huge DC generating power unit housing at the Indiana Steel & Wire Co Photograph: David Levene/The Guardian

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Indiana Steel Wire factory in 1914 Photograph: Ball State University Libraries Archives and Special Collections

Indiana Steel & Wire factory in 1914. © Otto Sellers/Ball State University Library

The Indiana Steel & Wire Co was founded by the Kitselman brothers in 1904. The company manufactured galvanized steel wire and wire products, and telegraph wire for domestic and foreign sales, and by 1958 employed nearly 1,000 people in Muncie. The company ceased operations in Muncie in 2002 and now only continues in the city as an environmental field office with just two staff.

The Indiana Steel & Wire property covered several dozen acres and contained two landfills and a sludge pond. There are plans to integrate the company’s former factory site into the surrounding parkland but only once the area is fully decontaminated.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest The Indiana Steel & Wire Co

Facebook Twitter Pinterest The Indiana Steel & Wire Co Photograph: David Levene/The Guardian

Facebook Twitter Pinterest The Indiana Steel & Wire Co Photograph: David Levene/The Guardian

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Craig, 62 is one of only 2 people left working for the Indiana Steel & Wire Co Photograph: David Levene/The Guardian

Craig, 62 – one of only two people left working for the Indiana Steel & Wire Co. He has been working here for a total of 26 years. Craig lost his arm in an accident at a different factory in Muncie



Facebook Twitter Pinterest A disused safety stretcher Photograph: David Levene/The Guardian

Facebook Twitter Pinterest An old boot Photograph: David Levene/The Guardian

Main photographs by David Levene. Photo essay production by Matt Fider. Archive photographs by Ball State University Libraries Archives and Special Collections

This article was amended on October 25 to correct the spelling of Billy, Bucky and George Pierce’s last name.