Smalltown USA

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Entry posted by cemaphon · June 19, 2010

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Now we come to a quick look at a few of the smaller towns in the region. First we have the town of Arlington:

As the economy and development picked up in the Nisqually River towns, many farmers found themselves priced out of those neighborhoods. So in the true pioneering spirit, a group of them settled on the edge of the farmland to the east of Whitman. Almost all of the town is small residential development - Students are bussed to the schools in other towns.

There is a small commercial strip on the edge of town. Just a gas station and some cheap shops and restaurants.

There is a small farmer's market near the edge of town that is becoming quite popular through the region.

Next is the even smaller town of Sultan:

Originally this intersection of farm roads held a seed supply, a hardware store and a general goods shop. Over time, it developed into a genuine (if small) town center, and a few blocks of modest housing were built around it. Note that even in a peaceful town like this, tragedy can strike. This house will be known as the "murder house" for decades.

On the whole, Sultan is fairly poor. Even the fancier homes in town are rather poorly maintained.

Finally, we have one of the most interesting communities in the region, Novye Morya. In the 1870s , a group of Russian Jews fleeing the Russo-Turkish War settled a small island in Puget Sound, making this the second-oldest town in the region, after New Market:

While most of the economy of the town is based around fishing and farming, there is a small industrial quarter mostly connected to processing the abundant tin ore on the southern part of the island.

The oldest synagogue in the region, and for a long time the only one. The only other one is in New Market, built by former Novye Morya residents.

The town is very proud to maintain an excellent K-12 school. However, the more ambitious and wealthy students are often sent to the dedicated high schools in New Market, most of whom stay there after graduation. So the town is experiencing a significant brain drain and greying population for such a small town.