The Home Soil
I went to Westville, The Home Soil, for the weekend. Westville is in Vermilion County, IL, and the economic engine of the county is Danville, Il. In reading the Sunday papers at home, the lead articles were the closure of the oldest indoor swimming pool in the state (built 1911) and the planned closure of a Danville school building built in 1922.
These are symptoms of a larger problem. Danville's population and economy peaked in the 1920s, during the same period Joe Cannon, Danville's Congressman, was Speaker of the House. The city was at the junction of the main north-south and east-west rail lines, which brought great economic activity. As rail declined, so did Danville, and now the population is falling dramatically. At the same time, infrastructure built in the 1920s and designed for a century of use is hitting the end of its useful life.
This is not unique to Danville. In America, we worship small towns, yet we don't live in them. (Your Correspondent being Exhibit Number 100 Million.)
These are symptoms of a larger problem. Danville's population and economy peaked in the 1920s, during the same period Joe Cannon, Danville's Congressman, was Speaker of the House. The city was at the junction of the main north-south and east-west rail lines, which brought great economic activity. As rail declined, so did Danville, and now the population is falling dramatically. At the same time, infrastructure built in the 1920s and designed for a century of use is hitting the end of its useful life.
This is not unique to Danville. In America, we worship small towns, yet we don't live in them. (Your Correspondent being Exhibit Number 100 Million.)