20 photos show what life was like in small towns in the US 100 years ago

Zoë EttingerJul 11, 2020, 02:06 IST

Hermosa, South Dakota, 1927.George Rinhart/Corbis via Getty Images

Small towns in the United States have mixed histories. While some small towns have grown over the past century, others have become ghost towns.
Up until the 1930s, horse-drawn carriages and automobiles could still be seen on the same streets.
Schools and banks in some small towns were just a tiny, single building.

Main Street in your town likely looked quite different a century ago. While some small towns have grown in the past 100 years, others were abandoned, particularly after mining prospects dried up.

The streets were likely shared by new automobiles and traditional horse-drawn carriages, which were present up until the 1930s.

In some villages and small towns, like Normal, Nebraska, the bank was a building smaller than a house. In Hugo, Oregon, the high school was the size of a mid-sized church.

Take a look at what small towns looked like 100 years ago.

Oatman, Arizona, started as a mining town after gold was found nearby in the early 1900s. Townspeople and old cars are seen in the town below in 1922.

Oatman, Arizona, 1922. Bettmann/Getty Images

The main street in Manning, Iowa, was a dirt road until it was paved in 1915, according to Manning Community.

Manning, Iowa, late 1910s or early 1920s. Transcendental Graphics/Getty Images

In Eastman, Wisconsin, in 1920, the town's power plant was a small building that looked like it could be someone's home.

A power plant in Eastman, Wisconsin, 1920. Sherwin Gillett/Wisoncsin Historical Society/Getty Images

The state bank in Normal, Nebraska, is pictured in the early 1900s.

Normal, Nebraska, early 1900s. FPG/Getty Images

In the shot below from 1927, the entire town of Hermosa, South Dakota — 84 people at the time — gathered to meet President Coolidge.

Hermosa, South Dakota, 1927. George Rinhart/Corbis via Getty Images

A town baseball game can be seen in this image of Boothbay Harbor, Maine, in 1910.

Boothbay Harbor, Maine, 1910. Transcendental Graphics/Getty Images

Pictured in Cordell, Oklahoma, in 1920, two people pose by a sign that discourages speeding.

Cordell, Oklahoma, circa 1920. Kirn Vintage Stock/Corbis via Getty Images

Manhattan, Nevada, was a busy mining town in the early 1900s. It attracted settlers after gold was found nearby.

Main street in Manhattan, Nevada, in the early 1900s. Historica Graphica Collection/Heritage Images/Getty Images

Bannack, Montana, pictured below in 1920, also began as a mining town after gold was discovered in nearby Grasshopper Creek.

Main Street in Bannack, Montana, 1920. Corbis Historical/Getty Images

Bonners Ferry, Idaho, pictured below in 1926, was another bustling mining community.

Bonners Ferry, Idaho, 1926. Minnesota Historical Society/Corbis via Getty Images

Dayton, Tennessee, is pictured below in 1925, the year the town became famous for the Scopes Trial.

Main Street in Dayton, Tennessee, 1925. George Rinhart/Corbis via Getty Images

Hugo High School, pictured below in 1926, was a school in Hugo, Oregon, from 1892 to 1967.

Hugo High School, Hugo, Oregon, 1926. Corbis/Getty Images

Fleischmanns, New York, pictured below in 1925, was established in 1913 and became a vacation town for those looking to escape the New York City heat.

Fleischmanns, New York, 1925. The New York Historical Society/Getty Images

Provincetown, Massachusetts, was founded in 1727, and began as a fishing and whaling community. The town's art museum is pictured below in 1921.

Art Museum in Provincetown, Massachusetts, 1921. The Boston Globe via Getty Images

Lumber operations are pictured in Crossett, Arkansas, in the 1920s.

Crossett, Arkansas, 1920s. Corbis/Getty Images

Stillwater, Minnesota, pictured below in 1926, was incorporated in 1854 and also began as a lumbering town.

Stillwater, Minnesota, 1926. Minnesota Historical Society/Corbis via Getty Images

Holy City, California, was established by a cult leader and white supremacist, William E. Riker, in 1919. The town is pictured below circa 1928.

Holy City, California, circa 1928. MediaNews Group/Oakland Tribune via Getty Images

Taos, New Mexico, seen below between 1920 and 1940, was established as early as 1000 AD by the Taos Pueblo people.

Taos, New Mexico, between 1920 and 1940. Library of Congress/Corbis/VCG via Getty Images

Wrangell, Alaska, pictured below in the early to mid-1900s, was discovered by the Tlingit tribe.

Wrangell, Alaska, in the early to mid-1900s. Visual Studies Workshop/Getty Images

South Pass City, Wyoming, pictured below in the late 1920s, was founded as a gold mining town. It was later abandoned.

South Pass City, Wyoming, late 1920s. Underwood Archives/Getty Images

A vintage trailer campsite in a secluded California vineyard comes with a private swimming dock and is offering weekend buyouts starting at $3000. Take a look inside.

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