• Small mining towns flourished at the start of the 1900s, and many were abandoned by the mid-century. • Up until the 1930s, horse-drawn carriages and automobiles could still be seen on the same streets. • Today, many of these towns lean on their history as tourist attractions.

Rural small towns today might be shaped by Dollar General stores and rusty industrial plants, but many across the US were once lively brick-paved main streets where domestic manufacturing and tight-knit communities flourished.

Some of America's small towns have grown in recent years, with young people moving in, while others that prospered a century ago now lie abandoned.

By the mid-century, declining industries began shaping what is now known as the Rust Belt, where once-booming iron, steel, and automobile p

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