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Kudos from me to you joe817.

Think of the differences between small Texas towns from the 1800's and today's heavily urban Texas.
So many of those towns that had small populations of only 200 or 500 or 1,000 had a large number of businesses and schools. Those pioneers were go-getters who started stores, feed mills, grain mills, blacksmith shops, carriage repair shops, diners, farms, ranches, salt mines, coal mines, and more. No government handouts, no college degrees, no internet. It's astounding.

Yes, some of these places dried up, and the folks moved on. But this is America, and capitalism just needed to move down the road to a more hospitable economic locale. As Americans, the "pursuit of happiness" allows us to move around as we see fit.

As a corollary to that, studies have shown that American cities with higher levels of home ownership hobble the ability of their residents to move to places more in need of their talents. So if a city has high levels of renters, people who get laid off, or just like another place better, have no longer than their 1 year lease to move elsewhere.

I love to comment on some of these places with which I have had travel experiences, in order to bring a little "today" to the historical record of a place.

SIA