Eastwinds Development will be building a new hotel and community complex on the site of the old Bissinger Wool Pullery.
The company is voluntarily removing the remains of thousands of dead sheep buried alongside the iconic water tower from the 1930s.
The pit where Bissinger buried the dead sheep is now covered in dirt and blackberry bushes. Tests revealed that just below the surface of dirt and blackberry bushes, the pit of dead sheep has turned into a kind of goo.
The Eastwinds property has a long history of industrial use. By the turn of the 20th century, the Union Meat Company rendering plant was operating at the site. In the 1920s, the Bissinger Wool Pullery relocated to the property from its former location in Sellwood.
The water tower on the property, an iconic landmark of Troutdale's old town skyline, once served the wool pullery for removing wool from sheep skins. The wool pullery closed in the late 1960s. Since then, the only activity at the property has been small-scale cabinet making and woodworking.
Kelly House, November 17, 2015 at 3:41 PM, updated November 17, 2015 at 8:32 PM
http://www.oregonlive.com/gresham/index.ssf/2015/11/excavation_of_rotting_sheep_re.html
http://photos.oregonlive.com/oregonian/2015/11/stinky_sheep_remains_unearthed_1.html
http://www.oregonlive.com/gresham/index.ssf/2014/08/thousands_of_sheep_carcasses_t.html