clarinetti
Spectre
Nestled in the heart of the Appalachian Mountains, Augusta is a remnant of the once vibrant coal industry which kickstarted the regions’ economy. The patch township came into being at the cusp of the nineteenth century as the Northumberland Coal and Iron Company (NCIC) expanded their operations throughout the Wyoming Valley. While originally all housing and amenities were under control of the company, a number of merchants and entrepreneurs flocked to the bustling new borough, setting up everything from inns to churches to a local brewing company. Work was disrupted however at the onset of the Civil War, as those who were deemed fit for battle were conscripted into the Unionist army. In comparing the war’s impact on the area with that of their southern neighbours though, Augusta was largely unaffected by the conflict, and experienced a period of increased prosperity following its conclusion.
In the subsequent decades the areas economy expanded as logging, farming, and steel production became increasingly prominent sources of income, driving thousands to migrate to the region. This growth came primarily in the form of immigrants (Particularly those of Irish, Scottish, German, and Eastern European origins), and paved the way for its continued development. Railroads were built, existing roads paved, saw mills and manufacturing plants constructed, electric powered street lamps were installed, and there was no lack of opportunity of employment. It was the American Dream manifested into reality, and for the next fifty years Augusta thrived.
It was hardly a perfect system by any measure: even as the area flourished and trade poured in, there were still trials to overcome. Timbre production plummeted in the late 1800’s as conservationists fought to have what little of the areas' forests remained protected, leaving many seeking new jobs. Conversely, the whiskey tax made the production and distribution of moonshine an increasingly risky yet profitable industry, bringing about a new era of fortune for some. As certain families gained wealth and affluence, they sought to obtain political power and fought to exert their control over the township. Conflicts between opposing parties resulted in outbursts of violence in the once tranquil region, the most prominent dispute being that of the McIntyre and Whitfield families. Local power struggles asides, NCIC also faced the perennial issue of health complaints coming from the miners who spent hours breathing in the gases and coal dust, and dissent remained simmering as little was done to resolve these concerns. And yet despite these hardships, the community banded together to etch out a living for themselves, and the knowledge that their work helped fuel the engine of America was a great source of pride.
However, the region was hit hard by the Great Depression, and it was then that the town’s astronomical ascent came to an abrupt halt. The mining operations ground to a crawl, unemployment rose to unprecedented levels, and when the company began to hire once more, miners were forced to accept lower wages. The latter half of WWII further crippled the local economy as much of the workforce was sent to the front, with the regions' struggles continuing well into the 1950's as the country’s dependancy on coal diminished. The agricultural sector also faced challenges as both poor farming practices and pollution from the mines eroded the land and made growing crops difficult. Families had to scrape by to keep food on the table, and despite the efforts of federal bureaus to ease their financial woes, poverty began creeping in.
Tensions grew between the NCIC and the labour unions in the face of mounting safety concerns and financial struggles, but it was the deadly Knox Mine Disaster in 1959 which put the final nail in the coffin. All deep-mining projects came to a swift conclusion shortly thereafter, with the entire coal industry quickly losing steam in the following decades. The jobs which the community had been built upon and had come to rely on began to disappear, with many households forced to relocate in search of better prospects. By the dawn of the new millennium, Augusta’s population had declined to nearly half of what it had been a mere eighty years before, with the majority of collieries, as well as the railroads and processing plants which relied on them, going out of business.
The town’s population has continued to dwindle in the early twentieth century, and currently stands at approx. 4 200. The 2008 recession was particularly hard on the area, and years later the community has yet to fully recover from its impact. A handful of companies in the region continue to strip mine for coal, but nowadays the local economy is driven primarily through the manufacturing plants which have popped up in the region, though this has yet to compensate for the loss of the mining sector. As a result, a significant percent of the working community have to commute to larger towns or cities to find employment. This instability has also brought in its wake an influx of crime, with drug trafficking in particular becoming a popular alternative source of income. There have been efforts to diversify the region’s sources of income, with tourism and IT receiving the biggest increases as a handful of start-ups have appeared in the small town. The local distillery is also growing strong, and as the state government has recently allocated additional funds to aid in the preservation of the Broad Mountain State Park there is hope that these new conservation efforts shall result in a tourism boom, although no one is holding their breath for such a reprieve. While there is certainly reason for the people to be despondent, a faint optimism stubbornly continues to hang in the air. What is perhaps most encouraging is the community's strength in the face of the pervading hardships, with many of the the townsfolk continuing to hold fast to each other in the hope of building a brighter future.
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