What does the future hold for small rural southern towns in the United States of America?

Studies show that the decline of small rural cities are the result of changing demographics, failure to keep up with a diverse economy, infrastructure failures and access to capital. 

During the early 1900’s this was sure to be the type of locale where you would want to raise your family.  The kind of town you see replicated in Hallmark movies where it was highly likely that everyone knew each other and looked out for one another.

Under the governance of Mayor Charles Bell Wilson, he recognized that the path toward modernization could only be achieved if the residents began to pay taxes.  Sellers actually existed for 74 years without imposing a tax levy on its residents and businesses. Collecting taxes was a way for the town to generate funds.  Funds that could be used to qualify them for federal grants. The residents began to pay taxes and grants were applied for and awarded to the town which enabled them to make improvements throughout the community.

Sellers was once a thriving town with several businesses that were supported by its residents. It has been devastated by industrial losses triggered by an increasing move towards a global economy and unimaginable environmental losses.  In the early1920’s, Sellers had a population of around 483 residents and in the 1960’s, the highest recorded population was as many as 565 residents. The current population stands at 91. It has steadily declined since the 1980’s. As Sellers struggles with record level poverty and no apparent plan for growth, the community is ripe for being irrecoverable and erased from history.