Montgomery was nearest town to the Solomon farm. When Aunt Marina was a child, she probably made the 5-mile trip into town with her parents in a horse and buggy. By the time she was an adult, the family would have had a car (a Model T??).
Today Montgomery is a shadow of place it once was. Many of the factories closed years ago–and most people shop at malls in outlying areas rather than downtown. 
When my husband and I recently visited Montgomery, the front window of the Montgomery’s Pharmacy contained a display that showed the town’s proud 125-year history. Aunt Marian was born in 1899–so she would have known the town when it was in its infancy.
My Aunt the WAC 
I love old downtown areas. I always wonder about the history. ~Elle
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So do I. I always like to try to picture what they were like in their heyday.
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It is sad to see buildings that were once alive with business, now boarded up. There are buildings that were it use with the cotton industry,but with more modern equipment are now boarded up and the little towns becoming like little ghost towns. Morgantown has done well in keeping the little town in good shape. The some of the little towns here look like Aunt Marion’s home place, Sad!
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It is sad. I always wish that the downtown areas could somehow be updated and re-purposed.
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I like the bank building in the first photo. It seems the bank was often a grand building.
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The old bank building now houses the Montgomery Library.
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So interesting and so sad the way towns begin to fade away with “progress.”
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I agree. Progress often has both positive and negative consequences.
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I still have the memories of bustling downtowns in central PA. Now they are building malls with outdoor shops to look like the old downtowns.
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When shopping at one of those new malls with outdoor shops on a cold winter day, I never can quite figure out why they are starting to replace some of the indoor malls.
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Even in the South, there are many rainy days. I just shopped in one in that rain and the clerk said business was always off in the rain.
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Montgomery is like so many American towns, including the one I live near. Time sort of passed them by and the downtowns look like ghost towns. It makes me sad, to remember how vibrant they were, eve when I was a kid.
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I have similar memories of some of the smaller towns having very vibrant downtowns when I was a child. Sometimes I find it difficult to believe how much some of these towns have changed during my lifetime.
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How timely that you saw those photos in the pharmacy. Can you imagine someone coming across your blog 125 years from now and adding your photos to new ones of Montgomery? What a great record that will be.
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I have always been fascinated by small town USA. Even if they had similarities, they were also unique. Our country is losing its vibrant texture with everything now bland and corporate- driven. But towns like Montgomery have a quiet dignity that malls and the Internet will never acquire. I would love to see the pendulum swing back.
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I totally agree. It would be wonderful if the pendulum would swing back. Small towns are wonderful places and have so much potential. There aren’t easy answers, but I often think about whether there are things that could be done that would help small rural communities revitalize themselves. .
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It’s sad to see the old downtowns fall into disuse. We get many things wrong, but one thing about Fredericton, the downtown is well-used. There is a thriving eatery community, but also art shops, bookstores and some of the older businesses (in spite of the busy uptown box stores and malls). Other community downtowns don’t do so well. Jane
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You are very fortunate to live in a vibrant small community with a thriving downtown. Towns in areas with tourism (as well a small college towns) often seem like they’ve been able to more successfully navigate the changes across the years. .
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Maybe a Model T, or a Model A. I have a history of my folks’ town that includes a newspaper clipping from around 1930-1932. The Harlem Globetrotters (established in Illinois in the 20s) were touring, and couldn’t make it to my folks’ town because their Model As got stuck in the spring mud that passed for roads!
Those photos are a real treasure. Do you happen to know who compiled them? Maybe the town itself has a historian, or at least someone really interested in its history.
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No I don’t know who compiled them. I need to do some more research. I visited the town late in the afternoon after the stores had closed so I couldn’t stop in and talk to anyone. I hope to visit it again before too long when I have more time.
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The big box stores have ruined most main streets in older towns as our lifestyles change. We live in a very different world from even our recent ancestors.
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I can remember when it was still common to shop in downtown stores. It was probably a little after their heyday, but they still seemed nice when I was young.
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