The downtowns of many of our small towns have been killed by Walmart. Back in the day, people used to go downtown for clothes, shoes, medicine, haircuts, and many other things that you can now get at Walmart. In my hometown, my doctor's office was there. The optometrist was there. The bank. The hardware store. Now, almost all of those things are in Walmart. Those families that ran those small businesses lost their livelihoods. The buildings lost their value. So, much of the wealth of the town - income and property values - was transferred from local families ... to Walmart. That's why all across rural America most downtowns are practically ghost towns.

I live in a small town in Alabama and this is how a lot of towns look like here. Most of the smalls towns have some of the best people you will ever meet.

I was born in 1973 in Grove Hill and was raised in Coffeeville. Back in the late 70’s/early 80’s it was a happening little town. I had a great childhood here. It was safe, had lots of friends and a loving community. Things have changed so much and not for the better……Walmart, and the “big city life” is what has killed our little town. There are few jobs unless it deals with the timber industry so people move away to have a “better” life. I work for a paper mill north of Thomasville and drive an hour one way to work. I’ve made my home here in Coffeeville because it’s where I choose to live…..it is HOME!!! This place is special to me and thousands of others who were raised here!

My 6th great grandmother from the 1830's is buried in Clarke County. All my dad's family is from there. My dad was born in 1935, and when he was a teenager the family got electricity. He went to college and got a PhD in Veterinary medicine. We still have land of what was the "family farm" . Dad felt that if there was ever a depression we could go back and at least have food. Dad instilled the value of family, education and hard work to me and my sisters.

I’m an AL native. There are many, many rural communities filled with people who love their small town. Thanks for sharing.

I bet the folks that still live there love it. Seems so peaceful.

Very nice homes and 30% poverty sounds like there's a wide economic gap in Jackson, Alabama. It's probably one of those towns where nearly everybody leaves for greener pastures soon after high school except for the people who have lots of money and the people who do not have enough money to leave.

With Remote Working becoming a thing people can move to these areas to revive and thrive. Tiny houses. Local (organic) farms. A local orchards. Buying local first and grocery or big box stores last. A small church. A local library. A small hospital and wellness center. Local doctors who make home visits. A campus of single room school houses. Parks and wide open spaces. ... all far off the Interstate of possibilities...

Another thing you might not know about Jackson, at 2:15 into this video, that little coffee shop you passed on the right used to be a jail. The Allman brothers band was actually booked there after being busted for drugs at a nearby restaurant, shortly before they became famous. Some of the members had carved their names into the cell walls, that cell is still there in the coffee shop today.

Veterans could again live in vacant homes in dying towns.....and help build up those towns.🇺🇸 The Millry Veterans Memorial was very nice❣️🇺🇸

Sad to see so many small towns dying. People have to leave to find employment. I feel the real estate prices are inflated. Thanks for the ride.

So many good towns and people in the old parts of Alabama. I've lived in Alabama 42 years and ain't seen half of this state

I live in scottsboro, Alabama & 2020 census said our population was 15,578 that year ! 💝 I love my small town. I've actually never lived anywhere with a larger population !! (I'm 44) I've lived on mountains with gravel roads that still to this day aren't paved & don't yet have running water !! You still go to sleep to the whippoorwill & cicadas singing in unison with the frogs ! So loudly some nights it's hard to sleep. I wouldn't trade it for the 🌎

If you want to see towns on the decline in Alabama, find any town that had a textile mill of some kind. There are a lot of small towns built up around a sock mill or a denim finishing facility that are drying up or are dried up. Many places didn't find other businesses to replace the mill when jobs were moved offshore. Avondale Mills was a company that employed 100s of thousands of people. Several small towns were dependent on Avondale and actually had mill villages to house workers.

God bless that town of Millry. That town lost a lot of native sons judging by all those names on that Memorial. Nice video, thanks for sharing.

Jackson, Al. has a lot of industry you didn't see. There is a Bosie Cascade papermill there, 3 lumber mills, a new pellet mill being built. There are several multi millionaires there and many large land owners also. Clarke county is one of the top timber producing counties in the country and the rich folks like it just the way it is!

It always breaks my heart when I see abandoned houses that could be fixed up into a home. A home is so important....

That driveway at 5:17 led to my grandparents house. The White House out of view on your left looking at the driveway was my great-grandparents at one point. My understanding is the house was originally either a church or school and built on the other side of the road you’re driving on. It was moved across the street sometime thereafter on logs in the late 1800s or early 1900s.

Thank u for giving us a wonderful tour of the beautiful South. Born and raised in Kenya and have lived in Maryland for 25 years and look forward to visiting the American south.

I'm from Jackson Ala. I was born at Jackson hospital, right off hwy 43. I attended Coffeville elementary and high-school. The river that you visited in Coffeeville, that river is called the Tombigbee river. It runs all the way to Mississippi. It's part of the Mobile river. It my mother was born in Grove Hill Alabama so we're both of my aunts and my uncle. Majority of my immediate family still lives in Clarke County in Jackson Thomasville Grove Hill and Coffeeville. When you went to Grove Hill you forgot to go by the Clark County Museum which is also historical. When you Rode down Robinson Street in the middle of Grove Hill. You passed by my grandmother and my great grandmother's house. It was so exciting to see your documentary.

I was born in Grove Hill in 1978 at the memorial hospital. Dr Neal delivered me at 3 a.m., butt first, no caesarean, in a small town. I'll forever be grateful to him and the place that produced me. Grove Hill will always be home no matter where I go in the world. Thanks for this video, I'll visit very soon because of it.

I’m from Mobile and played Millry, Jackson, Coffeeville, and Grove hill during middle/high school. Always loved getting out of the city and visiting those small towns. Always ate at a good local homecooking restaurant for our pregame meal. Lovely ppl all around

I live in these areas, so I know them well. Grove Hill is the county seat and tend to look the most busy. Jackson & Thomasville is actually a lot bigger & nicer than shown here, but the video only shows the more rural parts & downtown parts, which are historic & traditional-looking parts. However, this video is still a very accurate representation of these rural towns😂 These best time to visit rural Alabama is football/tailgating season, barbecue season, & Christmas season; that’s when everything really become lively, trimmed, and decorated.

The big thing that happened was we got a Walmart and you didnt have to drive all the way to Thomasville. Coffeeville was where alot of people went to hunt.

I read a really cool article on the Lustron homes. There were a small handful of them left and one was to be torn down and instead of demolishing the house, they carefully deconstructed it and moved it to another location. It was a really cool idea at the time.

Interesting ... I live in a small Alabama town ... you need to check out our neighboring town of Hodges ... once thriving ... still filled with small active churches and large cemeteries... what has time erased? I always wondered when I delivered the mail there to the four-hundred families determined to stay ... my challenge on route at times were cows in the road ... or people on horseback ... beautiful bluffs and landscape ...

Showing us our towns and cities through your eyes, small towns included, the good and the bad over the whole country is a real service to America. You have a great channel, and I appreciate it so much!

I watched your Biloxi and Gulfport videos and now these in rural Alabama. I live somewhere between the two near Mobile. I guess its relative, but it seems to me these old towns are not really dying, they just had a lot of people that wanted to be somewhere else. I bet those that still live there would not want to be anywhere else. Was in Denver last year and stepping over people passed out, hypodermic needles, and poop. Denver was very much alive, but like I said, its all relative. Your videos are excellent. I love the format and commentary.

I grew up in Mobile and have known of these towns all my life. It was very interesting to see what’s going on with them now.

We moved to a small city in NE Alabama,and it is growing and thriving. As the cities become more dangerious,people are moving out to small towns for a better life.

I grew up in this area (Fulton)and went to Thomasville High School. It’s not a bad place to live and there are a lot more nicer areas that you didn’t see in this short video. Very interesting to see these places spotlighted here on YT. 😊

New to your channel and love it! Many of the old small towns have no jobs, no health facilities, few store choices etc. The people who stay are elderly, poor or can't afford to live elsewhere. Small towns are nice if you grew up there and know everyone. But not many jobs to raise a family on.

I have been a truck driver for the last twenty years and I have really learned about all the places in this country. Of course, I am usually on the interstates but whenever I can I get off onto some smaller routes and see some of the towns. A lot of dead towns too.

Cute little town. Not really that small next to some. I'm glad to see that people keep it up and take pride in it. Thank you for sharing! (Incidentally, if you want to feature more Lustron homes, we have quite a few here in rural and quasi-rural Northern Illinois. I've seen them in pink, yellow, and blue, in addition to the tan you featured here. I've heard that they're hot in the summer, so it surprised me to see one still standing in Alabama.)

I love this channel , I can honestly say I'm addicted. I am a over the road truck driver , many of the towns in your videos I have been through , but driving a semi , I don't get to see everything in these videos. Thank you for the work you do.

I guess these houses missed out on the economic changes that the interstate system caused. I find it difficult to fathom the idea of these quaint little towns and villages dying and wonder what could ever be done to prevent it. I also wonder how attractive such a small town would be to an economic driver such as a major employer. If one ever set up shop within a reasonable commuting distance of a small dying town like one of these, I can imagine the town would come right back to life. The cost of living could be a major advantage of such small towns. With remote work, people could live in towns like this for cheap and still have an income.

I enjoy your videos! A recent transplant from Southern CA to Austin, TX seeking quality professional opportunities and better quality of life. Touring middle America through your eyes reminds me that living in CA is almost UNREAL. I was paying $900 per month for a tiny bedroom in a mid century hillside Ojai, CA home w/ a gorgeous view of the Valley and some of it's finest citrus orchards from the kitchen window, sharing a tiny bathroom w/ one additional housemate and visitors and parking my car on the street. I was frustrated because I couldn't grow my salary beyond $60k with my wealth of professional experience while meanwhile here $40k was mid-range for the average homeowner! I'm grateful for everything I have but I look forward to living within my means starting here in TX and ending somewhere in/near MN. Quality of life is EVERYTHING. 💛

Really enjoyed your video my friend. Thanks for posting. I grew up in Grove Hill Alabama. Things have not changed much since I was there in 1983. Has always been a real lack of opportunity in that region. I live in an Atlanta Georgia suburb right now. But, nice to walk back through some of those very familiar spaces through watching your video. I truly enjoyed it. ❤❤❤❤

Liked this a lot. I’m originally from Montgomery but currently in Indiana. Miss home.

I love seeing rural America! Thank you for this. Cheers from Belgium.

I hope you enjoyed your visit to Alabama! Its been my home all my life :)

I was pretty heartbroken to not see the house I helped my dad fix up in Jackson, AL...it was an old 1890's historical with a Spire in the front, built by one of the first preachers there, right next to the middle school...you took a left before the middle school instead of going straight out of downtown...heartbreaking to not see the old house. Love your channel bro, it takes me back to long drives for work through small towns, but this time I have someone driving for me spouting facts, love it.

I was born in Jackson, AL. My mom moved us before I was old enough to remember anything. Thanks for this sneak peek into my city of birth

Loved learning about these rural Alabama towns. The homes on the National Registry are very cool. The Veterans Memorial is beautiful! I’d love to know the story behind the 7-up truck and RR car! Thank you for a great video!

I love seeing these rural small towns

I went to high school in the Jackson area in the 80s. I still have a lot of relatives living there but I haven't been back since. Its depressing to see how bad the area looks now. I thought about returning there many times over the years. After watching this video, I don't know if I ever will. I would imagine the friends I had there are gone. Not enough progress in the area for jobs to increase the population. Sad.

I was born and raised in Thomasville and I now live in Montgomery. I am proud of my hometown, especially the downtown accomplishments. Thomasville is in Clarke County and Grovehill is the County seat. That is the reason for most of the activity in Grovehill. The pulpwood industry is responsible for a good percentage of jobs in Clarke County and surrounding areas. I'm sure the Mountain Dew truck was parked there during the driver's off road period and the flashing vehicle was probably the truck driver's ride. Lol

My family has deep roots in Alabama and I love to go back and visit. Sister and I did a Delorme Map Geocaching challenge a few years ago that took us literally to every corner of the state. We travelled thru many small towns. One of my favorites is Repton - not far from Jackson. Even though I live in Texas now, I love Alabama. It's one of the most beautiful and underrated states in the union. It is also the state with the most miles of fresh water lakes, creeks, and rivers of any state - by far. Thanks for traipsing thru the back roads of this beautiful state.

Out of all the rural areas of Alabama I’m shocked you stumbled across my little slice of the world. Growing up I’ve traveled throughout every town in this video more times than I can count. They’re not much, but it’s home to me. Us young folks keep moving away from these areas but there’s just something about these small towns that brings you back.

loss of manufacturing has hit our rural towns hard all over the south-east. lots of textile mills around my area in mid-GA that were booming in the 60s-70s that are mostly abandoned now except for a dollar general and post office.

Some really nice affordable towns in this one nice to see there are some left ! You guys should do a live I got a ton of questions . Thanks for including temperature that was one of the questions I had ! Have a good day !

A lot of people that lives in these small cities commute to other cities to work, that is why some of them have nice looking homes, with such low income.

Wow look at that porch, car port, nice yard. Jackson , town very neat, but empty. Assuming everybody s at work or schools. 🧐 God help our rural America .

Loved it, loved it!!! You travel just like my family always has. Driving through the neighborhoods, seeing downtown. I so appreciate your information on median incomes, real estate values, etc. I commented on your video of Dodge City and mentioned I am originally from Kansas. There is and was a lustron house there. As a child, I was fascinated with it. All the towns near my hometown look just like these. It was a wonderful place for childhood. I am in Kennedale Texas now but love going on your car trips and also with my son. Thank you so much!!

Of all these small towns, Jackson was my favorite.

So interesting! I am on the west coast….love seeing all these places u visit ….. I would never get to see them otherwise !

Love your content, I love seeing old houses and buildings. Reminds me of the days I lived in Port Arthur Texas in 1989, so much of that type of abandoned houses and buildings, I really miss them days.

Thanks for sharing those small towns an the life being lived there...beautiful country side all around, too bad that a lot of those little house get let go..." Safe travels "🌼

With the growing ability to work “remote” from home, it would be amazing if more life could be breathed into these beautiful small towns!

It's funny, I had a lot of family that grew up in the area of millry, silas, coffeeville. To see it show up here like this, was just so unexpected. I guess I always remembered it as so Lively and friendly. I really wish you had showed the Millry drive-in, it was just past the Millry telephone company on the right. I always remember getting good food there when I was younger. How the years have gone by.

My uncle and aunt lived in Dothan. He was chief of police, she worked for the paper. Once a week we would get the Dothan Eagle- Often a front page would feature a young man making Eagle Scout. It would be nice to live in a peaceful little town like that.

What the hell did they do in the small towns to survive? Silas, wow. The farther you going to these areas the more fascinating it gets. We finally get to see rural America and it’s real setting. And some of the realities of our nation. Really at this point I think you guys are doing a public service. Thanks as always

Very neat video thank you for your care in older Alabama towns.

Wow, you are doing a great service. Thank you so very much

Near Coffeeville, you crossed the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway. Better known as Ten-Tom, it was built by the Army Corps of Engineers to connect the Tennessee River to the Tombigbee River and provide a direct water route from the navigable Tennessee River and the Gulf of Mexico. Although it has been an economic boost for some areas of Alabama, many consider Tenn-Tom a classic example of pork barrel politics.

Kudzu envelopes anything. In Summerdale there is or was a house that was ordered through the Sears roebuck catalog in the late 30's. Couple more Sears houses in New Mexico. You're vlogs are fascinating.

This is such an interesting leg of your journey! The Lustron homes are really neat to see! Thank you! 😊

Lord is all over the road. Rural to city to beaches. Man finds it all.

Evening from Isan and that was interesting, some rather isolated places out in the sticks. The houses built from sheet steel are different, never heard of those before, certainly learn something new each day. Looking at the history Grove Hill was nearly wiped out by Yellow fever in 1853. Good job you have the NRHP to ensure a lot of these structures are preserved. Thank you for the jaunt around the countryside.

There were four mailboxes outside the building advertising catfish for sale. Sign also saying it was open. Pretty good bet the fish were caught from the nearby river. Given the mailboxes, it seems likely that all four of those secluded and ramshackle structures were occupied. A special glimpse of rural America, thanks to you.

Im from jackson, thanks for showing all our local communities. The good and the bad, it will always be home to me. Saw a few people i knew driving by in your video😂

great honest review with historical data and current data. I live near the AL border, and some of the town look abandoned. very disconcerting to see empty downtowns.

These towns remind of the rural towns outside of Troy where I lived as a youth (13-18 yo) during the early 1970s. I remember that our prom night finished with a drive seeing the beautiful homes in Troy’s historic district and having a soft drink at one of the two drive-ins that existed during that time. A lot has changed but it appears that some things have not. It’s both interesting and difficult for me to watch this video as I don’t have fond memories of my experiences during that period of my life.

Greetings from Australia. These "Smalltown USA" videos are very interesting.I enjoy them very much.

Found this channel by accident, but I'm glad I did, loved the way you show the towns how they are, was very glad to see you have more videos, I'm going to get some coffee and see the rest, thanks for your time to show the world your videos. Subscribed.

Hi Lord Spoda Thanks for this surprise gift! The title of the video is little disturbing if we see the true rural beauty of the countryside here. The red and yellow soil at many places add to the beauty of the surroundings. Post Office in Coffeeville is so cool. I wonder if it is functional. The videography is so matching with the picturesque rural Alabama that you can make at least 10 posters out of this video! No doubt I will once again go through this piece leisurely. It is a wonderful day spent in these peaceful rural small towns with you. My sincere thanks.

You are living my dream, I love traveling seeing small towns, I used too drive otr,, you will be amazed of the small towns, that aren't even on any database, I don't miss driving trucks, but I miss the traveling and seeing sites that time / people have forgotten about 👍👍💯

Wow, it's so cool to see you visiting places around where I grew up. I grew up in Sweet Water about 15 to 20 minutes away from Thomasville. It is much smaller. Maybe around 200 for the population in the city limits on a good day. We all had to drive to Thomasville to shop. Funny enough, some of the best high school football teams in the state are in that area as well.

A fellow Dallasite! This is the 2nd straight video I've watched from your library lol. You are so funny and pleasant to watch and I love your little town facts! Just wonderful all around. 👏🏾👏🏿

When you were in the area with the houses near the river and that catfish for sale sign, all I could think of was moonshine whiskey. My grandfather lived by the Mississippi River and he was a moonshine maker. He said his whiskey was better than store bought.

I like how genuinely nice these two people are ☺️. Wish I could go on a road trip with them 🙂

My grandmother was born in Gloster, Mississippi which was a very small town and the population was 880 people. Both of my grandparents were born in small towns.

thanks for the exciting trip ! I don't get to travel much but I really enjoy your trips!

You're quickly becoming one of my Top Three KZfaqrs for experiencing towns and cities. To be honest, for financial reasons I assume, one of my Top Three is stuck in Michigan. Love his stuff. Wish he were in a position to cover the rest of the U.S. Subscribed.

l love how you often bring up historical information in your videos!

It's really interesting, in the buildings that are in the process of collapse, to see how they were built. When they built something back in the day, it lasted a good long time.

I really enjoyed your journey and have just subscribed to your channel. I like the way that you state the townships statistics and always try to show their good or at least interesting points. Roll on.

The small the town the better I like it.

I live in Birmingham and once decided I was gonna take old US 11 from B'ham to Slidell. It was amazing how many towns, businesses and homes just died that weren't on the interstate. Not the towns on 11 but the ones on the county and state roads.

I like your presentation and descriptions of the properties. All viewed from a positive viewpoint, it seems. Thank you! It all was or will be history in some way. ;)

Same prefab steel houses were built in a neighborhood in MD called Harundale , same reason , for GI's. ... I've worked on a few of them , they have problems but people have tried to keep them up ... I guess tearing them down and rebuilding a modern wood frame structure is financially out of the question for those who own them now , they are some of the least initial cost houses to buy , but still way overpriced for what they are ... rotting and rusting steel , bad plumbing , no insulation , older wiring and fuse panals , the steel structure made for high condensation which causes rust , mold , and constant water/moisture buildup inside the walls and attics ... they had single glaze crank out steel casement windows , we're all build on slabs , no basements ... basically a disposable house , nightmare , but like I said new owner after new owner as they changed hands poured $$$ into them anyway to combat the problems but it's like putting a bandaid on a auto accident trauma victim ...

Nice video! When I traveled from West Texas to visit Delaware, I took all the side roads and not the freeway just to see this sort of scenery! You can bet I took a lot of fotos too. My favorites were OLD houses and barns.

I’ve been working in Jackson for few weeks it’s nice and quaint It amazing work you are doing here

THANK YOU THAT WAS A NICE DRIVE AND SOME NEAT PLACES MIGHT FIND A GOOD DEAL THERE thank you for sharing

I always drovedown I-65 straight to the end - hit water / Fairhope AL Love this thank you I reallly adore Alabama

I love that house with the porch going around the house they are all beautiful homes

What I call your musings (with contemplative hums?) are just so endearing! Sad that so much of this country is just slowly slipping away!

Loved it! Though I live in DFW area, I have family in Jackson & my mom was born about 6 miles out of Coffeeville, headed toward Jackson, in my Great Grandfather's house on his homestead, along with her 5 siblings. I am the 4th generation owner of a parcel of land, where my Great Grandfather's house is still standing. I spend 2 to 6 weeks there almost every year. The only town on the video I haven't spent time in is Millry. When you turned into Coffeeville "downtown", right as you past the post office, the little white lean-to on the side of the tire place was my grandfather's barbershop. Coffeeville was a cool little town when I was a child & have many fond memories of spending time there in the summer. Thanks for sharing, I'll be headed that way end of April.

A beautiful place and land. One day will rise again.

Jackson is so clean!!