Comments

1
American Falls is in southern Idaho near the Utah border.
3
damn abstractions!
4
Osborn, Ohio (now part of Fairborn, Ohio) was moved in 1921 for construction of the Huffman Dam. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osborn,_Ohi…
5
I also grew up in American Falls. My family's smaller farm was bought a few years ago by a much larger farm and now there are only two or three farm families (or rather companies) that run the whole operation. The junkyard in the photo was always a junkyard, but now it's swallowing up most of the north end of town and it's the first thing you see when you exit the interstate. The building with the anti-meth mural was an independently-owned video rental store that lasted longer than anyone thought it would but closed right after the Great American Video across the street folded too. I'd say the only businesses that are surviving any more are the Subway and Pizza Hut on the outskirts of town. For everything else, everyone just drives 20 minutes to Pocatello (pop. 80,000). The few kids from school I know who haven't stayed there to farm or get pregnant have gone to Pocatello, Boise, Moscow, or Utah for college and jobs.

I'd like to say that these photos somehow misrepresent the town, but the reality is that they're absolutely honest. When you said "Now the town is dying." I was shocked and offended at first, but... it's the truth. I don't know how much longer towns like AF can survive.
6
Interesting observations. I moved to American Falls for employment, and have enjoyed the small town community. With some hard work and vision, American Falls has a lot of potential, both in tourism and industry. There's a chance of a phoenix rising from the ashes. But like many towns its size, what businesses haven't closed have moved to larger communities and residents are expected to commute. Even most of the clothing stores in Pocatello have moved to Idaho Falls 75 miles to the north where there is more money and a larger population base (mostly because of the towns around Idaho Falls). One clarification: the man in the picture is a local attorney and isn't the mayor, at least at this time (although he may have been in the past). The mayor is a relatively young woman.

Please wait...

and remember to be decent to everyone
all of the time.

Comments are closed.

Commenting on this item is available only to members of the site. You can sign in here or create an account here.


Add a comment
Preview

By posting this comment, you are agreeing to our Terms of Use.