After the Homichitto Lumber Company (see here) closed down in 1936, the town of Bude was deprived of its primary source of employment and prosperity. Towns sprang up and disappeared throughout the southern timber belt in the wake of logging over vast tracts of cypress and southern yellow pine.
Bude fared better than many former sawmill towns. (Click here to read about a Mississippi town, much like Bude, except that today a small highway sign is the only visible remains of a once prosperous town.) Today there are still a few stores along Bude's main street and the town is neat and well maintained. American Railcar Industries operates a repair facility in Bude.
Nice pictures, Edd. I find the history of these old towns fascinating. It doesn't take much to go from very prosperous to barely inhabited.
ReplyDeleteThanks Ed. I suppose there are towns all around the country that have declined or disappeared after the industry that made them prosperous played out. Reminds me of the ghost towns out west left behind in the wake of the gold and silver booms. Fascinating history indeed.
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