Small Town News

Welcome to Winona, Mississippi, "The Crossroads of North Mississippi."  The town was formed in the early 1860s when Colonel OJ Moore agreed to let the railroad and a train station be constructed on his land near the town of Middleton.  The railroad and station attracted a substantial amount of business and Winona grew quickly into a busy trading town.  By the 1890s, Winona was home to tw...

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Welcome to Willimantic, home of the Battle of the Frogs! Willimantic is a census-designated place located in the town of Windham.  It was originally incorporated as a city in 1893 and was known as "Thread City" because of its thread mills.  The city prospered until after World War II and ultimately foundered in 1985 when American Thread, a major employer in the area, moved to North Carol...

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Welcome to Alexander City, Alabama!  The town was originally incorporated as Youngsville, but the name was changed shortly after to honor Edward Porter Alexander, a Confederate Civil War hero and president of Savannah and Memphis Railroad.  The town name has been unofficially shortened to Alex City by locals, who pronounce  it "El-ix City".   The town is located on the shores of Lake Mar...

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Welcome to another grab bag episode from recent locations.  We are missing George and Dr. Jess today, so there is no telling where we might end up!  Enjoy! Small Town News--whose headline is it, anyway? @SmallTownNewsImprov 

Small Town News--whose headline is it, anyway? @SmallTownNewsImprov 

Welcome to Big Bear Lake, California, "Southern California's Winter Playground!"  Located about 25 miles northeast of San Bernardino, Big Bear Lake has become a popular recreation destination.  With a population of just over 5,000, the number of people staying in the area can swell to over 100,000 during many weekends of the year.  The area is a popular destination year round destin...

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Welcome to Hopkinton, Rhode Island!  The town is the southernmost town along I-95 in Rhode Island.  Hopkinton is named after Stephen Hopkins, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, when the town was partitioned from Westerly and incorporated in 1757.  Prudence Crandall, schoolteacher and activist, was born in Hopkinton in 1803.  Crandall taught the first integrated classroom in the US when s...

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Welcome to Bonners Ferry, Idaho, "Idaho's Most Friendly Town."  The town is located in Boundary County, ID, and shares its northern border with British Columbia, Canada.  When gold was discovered in the East Kootenays in British Columbia in 1863, the surge of prospectors caused Edwin Bonner to establish a ferry where the Wildhorse Trail crossed the Kootenai River in 1864.   When the...

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Happy New Year!  As we wrap up the holiday season, we take a trip back to Thanksgiving in some of our recently visited towns.   Enjoy this fun run little run through the holidays. Small Town News--whose headline is it, anyway? @SmallTownNewsImprov 

Small Town News--whose headline is it, anyway? @SmallTownNewsImprov 

Merry Christmas!  As a special surprise, in this episode we visit a steakhouse in our region that Dr. Jess has always wanted to visit.  We hope you enjoy this episode as much as we enjoyed the steakhouse! Small Town News--whose headline is it, anyway? @SmallTownNewsImprov 

Small Town News--whose headline is it, anyway? @SmallTownNewsImprov 

Well, Neil failed to keep us reigned in, so here we are with the second episode of our visit to Hillsville.  Enjoy! Small Town News--whose headline is it, anyway? @SmallTownNewsImprov 

Small Town News--whose headline is it, anyway? @SmallTownNewsImprov 

Welcome to Hillsville, Virginia, home of the infamous Carroll County Courthouse shooting.  Located in southwestern Virginia in the Blue Ridge Mountains close to the North Carolina border, the town is the county seat of Carroll County.   Hillsville is home to the Hillsville Flea Markets, which are held on Memorial Day weekend and Labor Day weekend.  The latter is said to be the largest flea market...

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Welcome to Upper Marlboro, Maryland!  The town was established in 1706 and was named Marlborough Town after an ancestor of Winston Churchill, John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough.  The town went through a few iterations until it ultimately landed on Upper Marlboro by 1893.  The town was originally established as a port town on the western branch of the Patuxent River for tobacco shipments.  Unf...

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Happy Thanksgiving and welcome to our special porch chat episode!  With the holidays upon us and a new year just around the corner, it's time to take a few weekends off and  clear out some of our old porch chats.  As you've come to expect, we don't always stay on task (according to Dr. Jess and Neil, anyway).  This episode contains a few porch chats that weren't able to be aire...