[yarddog]

I remember when I lived in Western Kansas, there were a lot of small towns which while not yet ghost towns were barely hanging on.

For some reason people are migrating to the larger cities. Maybe sometime the trend will reverse, I sure hope so.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

My hometown in southern Iowa once had several thousand residents including immigrants from all over Europe. It's down to about 350 today.
Coal and the railroad were what propelled it. When the RR switched to diesel, that was the beginning of the end.

[blam]

"Maybe sometime the trend will reverse..."

Nope. I expect it to only accelerate as gasoline becomes more expensive. High energy prices means urban, high density housing.

[married21]

I was in Western Kansas a couple of years ago. Since oil prices were up, my mom’s small town was beginning to recover a bit. The tiny school district was overwhelmed with, swoon, 35 more kids that had moved into the district that year.

I think it will stabilize at some point because there will always be some people who like their space, even if wages and opportunities are limited.

[thecodont]

I remember when I lived in Western Kansas, there were a lot of small towns which while not yet ghost towns were barely hanging on.

There was an article in National Geographic (January 2008) about an abandoned town in North Dakota. There were pictures of the decaying schoolhouse with books still on the desks.

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2008/01/emptied-north-dakota/bowden-text

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2008/01/emptied-north-dakota/richards-photography