Does The Internet Pass Thru Your Town

I was recently visiting a very small Tennessee town to attend a 40th birthday party when I decided to walk down into the actual village, about ¼ mile from where the party was. Does the internet pass thru your town?

A Visit to a Small Tennessee Town

I love visiting small towns (both in the South and in my homeland of Australia) – they intrigue the daylights out of me and bring a sense of history that is so attractive to my imagination. Like many small old towns of the past, there were mostly empty buildings in the village area – a lot were dilapidated, but it wasn’t hard to imagine a bustling village back in the 1950s. Maybe it was a town just like Mayberry.

What Made the Bustling Town Die?

Aghhhh – this is Interview with a Webmaster – so I guess it’s a valid question.

Though I won’t name the town, it is on the Cumberland Plateau (may also be considered East Tennessee) – but either way, there was a big “logging” industry operating between the early 1900s up to the 1950s when the town began to decline. The folks and family I know from this area ultimately could not maintain work and moved up North to work in the Automotive & Steel Industry (which I am sure happened in more rural states than just Tennessee).

Walking through the town, I found the old bank now closed with weeds growing inside. There was a very large building that looked like the town’s hotel and restaurant, and then quite a few other buildings mostly boarded up and run down. After a quick walk through the township, I headed back to the party. While heading back, I heard a train whistle which appeared very close by.

So the Town Was Built on a Railway Line?

Evidently so! I happened to meet an esteemed 90-year-old town resident at the birthday party, and she confirmed that the railway line was the primary form of transportation. People were riding trains to and from the town extensively in the 1930s.

Of course, many towns like this one started slowing down when the “interstate system” became the primary method of transportation (and the commuter trains slowly went away). I remember the Andy Griffith Show that had a new interstate planned to come through Mayberry. The town was all abuzz (you could just imagine Barney running around excited) at the thought of skyscrapers one day being built downtown. Ultimately, the interstate bypassed Mayberry and went through Mount Pilot instead.

What on Earth Does This Have to Do with Websites?

Ok, so I like telling a story!

Pretty much most small towns that weren’t on the interstate systems continued to spiral downward in commerce and activity. In the town I visited, the industry was gone, no major interstate system was nearby, and the commuter train was a ghost from the past. There really didn’t seem like anything could bring the town back to life.

That is, unless the Internet Pass Thru Your Town…

The Internet as the New Highway

That’s right – the Internet! With the world wide web now a primary route of commerce, it is capable of bringing more business traffic than any physical road or interstate for that matter. And the Internet doesn’t CARE where you are – as long as you have a professional website and services and products that an internet consumer will purchase.

Imagine the old bank turned into a retail crafts store specializing in regional “Cumberland Quilts,” purchased by people from all over the world through their website – http://www.cumberlandquilts.com/. Visitors buy products directly from the site, and the town slowly wakes up.

One Store Leads to Another

As the quilt store grows, word spreads among quilt makers in the Appalachians. The shop establishes strong supplier relationships and hires extra part-time staff. Business picks up on the retail floor, too.

Soon after, a local antique store opens. Antiques fuel a different type of customer—many who browse online first and shop later. The Internet powers interest, and in-person visits follow.

The antique shop, http://www.plateauantiques.com/, captures imagination. With a full online catalog, calls start coming from Michigan, Maine, and beyond. The local post office gets busy, shipping antiques purchased online.

The Growth of a Community

Now with two busy stores and two busy websites, the town buzzes again.

The G’Day Café opens—a hybrid café, library, and Wi-Fi hub. High school students gather after class. Parents relax with coffee and homemade cakes. Public computers make the Internet accessible to all.

Upstairs, the town’s official “Webmaster and Technologist” sets up shop. Offering website development and internet classes, the webmaster powers more businesses online.

The Webmaster Gets Busy

The community realizes it can market itself. A town CVB (Convention and Visitors Bureau) website goes live, showcasing the beautiful park, picnic areas, and historic charm. Businesses like Cumberland Quilts and Plateau Antiques advertise on the town website, linking the entire community.

The county mayor’s office jumps in, launching local government services online. A domain strategy emerges, planning the town’s future digital traffic.

The Internet Connects Rural Residents

Fuel prices and rural distance drive the need for smart online presence. Locals start relying on the web before driving anywhere. A tech-powered small town becomes not just possible, but necessary.

Business flourishes. A beauty salon, flower shop, real estate offices, and attorneys move downtown. G’Day Café becomes the town’s heartbeat.

Technology becomes the backbone. Traffic now comes two ways—by road and by the information highway.

A Walkable Town Goes Green

Promoting the town’s walkability and natural beauty becomes a marketing advantage. Sidewalks, greenways, and river trails draw eco-minded visitors. Farmers’ markets flourish, and websites promote local produce and “Buy Local” movements.

The town becomes a modern Mayberry—where history inspires innovation and families stroll the town square on a sunny spring day.

The internet, passing through the town every second of every day, connects them to the world.

But What About Floyd the Barber?

Seems like the town has everything else!

Maybe there’s even an Internet Kiosk in Floyd’s Barber Shop now—so long as it doesn’t interfere with the old men playing checkers. But when Floyd was cutting hair, Al Gore was just a kid—and the Internet wasn’t quite passing through Mayberry yet…

Cheers Mate,

Peter Beare – Webmaster

Peter Beare is CEO of BeareWare, a Website Design & Development Company located just outside of Nashville, Tennessee. Since building his first website for a local sports club in 1998 Peter has been a webmaster. Over the last 10 years Peter’s duties with BeareWare have included website planning, design and development, website marketing and sales, as well as database application programming & project management. But when all is said and done, Peter is still a webmaster and this is “Interview with a Webmaster“.