[Eric in the Ozarks]

My hometown in southern Iowa once had several thousand residents including immigrants from all over Europe. It's down to about 350 today.
Coal and the railroad were what propelled it. When the RR switched to diesel, that was the beginning of the end.

[yarddog]

Most of the towns in Western Kansas also grew up along the railroads. I think modern farming methods have a lot to do with it.

At one time, most of the farms were operated by a single family and were usually smaller than 640 acres. Today’s farms are far more efficient but they only take a few people to produce a huge amount of produce.