(no subject)
Reference guide:
This is by no means complete. This is just a quick rundown of some things. Do some research on your own, too; if you find anything you'd like to see added, let us know.
The year is 1910. Smithstown is an up-and-coming little community surrounded by farms and ranches. There's an inn, in town, and several shops and businesses. Some of the farms operate under the Homestead Act of 1862, which entitled anyone who had never taken up arms against the US Government to file for an application of ownership for 160 acres of land.
Places in Town
First Chance - The inn/saloon. Downstairs is a bar and tables, and room for entertainment. Has a telephone. Owned by Tom Conrad. Other employees are Conor Oberst, Michelle Nolan. Residents include Tim Kasher.
The Bank
The General Store
The School
The Church
etc...
Technology
The telephone is still relatively new. Railroads are springing up all over the place, and mining is just starting to take hold all over the country, though the only thing to be mined in Wyoming is copper. The middle class is really starting to grow, through things like career tracks - skilled blue collar jobs that eventually lead to white collar management positions - though this is still mostly in big cities.
Electricity has been discovered. Machines are available for use on farms. The automotive is beginning to gain in popularity, for the rich, though most people still ride horses or walk to get from place to place. Gramophones aren't commonplace yet, but recorded music does exist.
Medicine
Doctors were ridiculously expensive. Giving birth could easily come to over $50 in doctor's bills, and being serially ill could result in a lifetime spent paying off your doctor.
Education
Not everyone knew how to read in 1910. Rural children were far less likely to attend school. To give perspective, only 5% of all American youth graduated high school in the year 1900, and most of those would have been youths in cities who didn't get called away to work on the farm.
Currency and Finance
The average salary was about $750/year. Whiskey cost $3.50/gallon, and milk was only $0.60/gallon. A family of six could be fed on $350-400 a year.
Politics and Immigration
Imperialism and overseas expansion were frowned upon by most American citizens, and while their was a harsh kick-back against the corrupt governments of previous eras, the government and political systems were still pretty dirty. In the news, soft, sentimental stories are beginning to become as important as factual news. This is, of course, after the Civil War.
Though only some immigrants went to the West, choosing instead to stay in cities, 37 million people came to the States between 1840 and 1920, from all parts of the world.
This is by no means complete. This is just a quick rundown of some things. Do some research on your own, too; if you find anything you'd like to see added, let us know.
The year is 1910. Smithstown is an up-and-coming little community surrounded by farms and ranches. There's an inn, in town, and several shops and businesses. Some of the farms operate under the Homestead Act of 1862, which entitled anyone who had never taken up arms against the US Government to file for an application of ownership for 160 acres of land.
Places in Town
First Chance - The inn/saloon. Downstairs is a bar and tables, and room for entertainment. Has a telephone. Owned by Tom Conrad. Other employees are Conor Oberst, Michelle Nolan. Residents include Tim Kasher.
The Bank
The General Store
The School
The Church
etc...
Technology
The telephone is still relatively new. Railroads are springing up all over the place, and mining is just starting to take hold all over the country, though the only thing to be mined in Wyoming is copper. The middle class is really starting to grow, through things like career tracks - skilled blue collar jobs that eventually lead to white collar management positions - though this is still mostly in big cities.
Electricity has been discovered. Machines are available for use on farms. The automotive is beginning to gain in popularity, for the rich, though most people still ride horses or walk to get from place to place. Gramophones aren't commonplace yet, but recorded music does exist.
Medicine
Doctors were ridiculously expensive. Giving birth could easily come to over $50 in doctor's bills, and being serially ill could result in a lifetime spent paying off your doctor.
Education
Not everyone knew how to read in 1910. Rural children were far less likely to attend school. To give perspective, only 5% of all American youth graduated high school in the year 1900, and most of those would have been youths in cities who didn't get called away to work on the farm.
Currency and Finance
The average salary was about $750/year. Whiskey cost $3.50/gallon, and milk was only $0.60/gallon. A family of six could be fed on $350-400 a year.
Politics and Immigration
Imperialism and overseas expansion were frowned upon by most American citizens, and while their was a harsh kick-back against the corrupt governments of previous eras, the government and political systems were still pretty dirty. In the news, soft, sentimental stories are beginning to become as important as factual news. This is, of course, after the Civil War.
Though only some immigrants went to the West, choosing instead to stay in cities, 37 million people came to the States between 1840 and 1920, from all parts of the world.