Quote:
|
Originally Posted by alpha phi
Company towns are common in our past.
Some turned to ghost towns when
the company pulled up stakes.
The surviving towns are all around us
I'd wager a guess more then half of modern
towns were at one time started as company towns.
The last town I lived in was built by Upjohn
My current town a paper mill.
|
There is a town in Washington State called Dupont (gee, wonder who owned it). Despite its proximity to I-5, Fort Lewis, and Olympia, this former company town was little more than a ghost town until about 11 years ago, when Intel decided to build a facility there. Other businesses more or less followed, and now it's one of the fastest growing communities in Western Washington.
Driving around old company towns is kind of cool, though. There are a few in Eastern Washington that sprouted up to house the people who built the dams on the Columbia. Indeed, Boulder City, NV, initially came to life as a company town for the construction workers and engineers responsible for the Hoover Dam. Notably, because the Bureau of Reclamation controlled the town, Boulder City did not allow the sales of alcohol until 1969. Gambling is still illegal, making it the only place in Nevada where gambling isn't allowed.
So sometimes the rules corporations make about the towns that they run stick around long after the corporations themselves are gone. In my opinion, not a good thing.