[yupitsme123]

The communities that they lived in were more self-sufficient and probably lived outside of the influence of large government or corporations or lobbying groups.

The flourishing town probably grew that way organically, not because of government support or because some company opened a big facility there.

It's true that land is more expensive now, but even if you could buy your own town and settle people on it, organic growth is basically illegal or impossible nowadays.

[ydlr]

Actually, the town basically existed because of the TVA. It was a major employer and profits went to fund the schools and library.

[nkurz]

Coincidentally, there was an interesting article about the relationship between Massena and their power company here a few months ago: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42992032

They have a publicly operated utility that seems to be working well for them. It's a good story! Direct link: https://nysfocus.com/2023/06/21/public-power-utility-massena...