Smalltown USA

We stopped off at a little town called Circleville Ohio, on our way to Moundsville, West Virginia. Circleville was so called because it was originally surrounded by a circle of Native American earthworks, with its courthouse in the centre. It was founded in 1810. None of the earthworks are left today. Moundsville was so called because there were a lot ancient native mounds there. (More of which later.) They are the kind of places that have not the hint of  a tourist trail.

Surely this wasn't originally designed this way?

We only stopped to stretch our legs and buy a coffee, but were pleasantly surprised at how much of the original town is left from it's heyday at the turn of the century - despite a violent tornado ripping through the town in 1999.

I so hope he wins.

People have said to us that America lives in today and tomorrow and the past rarely gets a look in.

But here's a quote from the wall of the U.S.A.F museum:

"Those who forget their history are condemned to repeat it."

Once Johnson's pride and joy.

Wandering around stretching our legs, we noticed the delightful turn-of -the-century architecture. These buildings were obviously built when things were booming here and there were customers with money keeping the whole thing going.

Mr Zwicker's pride and joy. The date is 1909.

For us this is where the original beating heart of America lay. At the turn of the last century this young country was flexing its economic muscles. Most of the labour force was out on the farms, but the migration to the industrial cities had begun.

Quite a few things to figure out on here.

But the history is still here in the bricks and mortar. Who were Mr Johnson and Mr Zwicker? They were obviously successful businessmen in their time, but their time has long gone.

This is the kind of place Bonnie and Clyde turned up at. But who is Ted Lewis?

Recently it was the town's bi-centennial, and civic pride here is still strong. Two impressive murals show it's history.

This is a wall.

Diane engages with history.

But, sadly now, a lot of the old shops are empty or gone. Either out-of-town centres or economic circumstances have resulted in the money migrating elsewhere.

Old homes show that the money used to be here.

There are huge grain silos on the edge of town, and a railway running through it, but agriculture is no longer a labour intensive affair, so the people who live here have to find an income elsewhere. And that income is obviously not easy to find; signs of a town shrinking are all around - empty lots and empty shops.

There weren't many people on the street at midday.

As a woman in one shop said:

"Welcome to Circlesville. Even if you're strangers there's one thing guaranteed here - you certainly won't get lost!"

Modern shops aren't so easy on the eye.

How long these buildings will be here for it's difficult to say. If the money has moved elsewhere, who'll pay for the upkeep? But for the present, if you keep your eyes peeled, you can still see the echos of an America that is now long gone.