Many cult leaders move their cults to the countryside, seeking to isolate their members and keep cult activities away from the prying eyes of outsiders. Depending on the size of the cult, there may be one large building (e.g. an old farmhouse) or a compound of buildings surrounded by chain-link fences and razor wire. Most members “donate” their property and life savings on joining the cult, providing for much of the cult’s expenses. Often, cult members engage in some craft to make extra money for the cult. Cult leaders are paranoid (often with good reason) and instill paranoia in their people, meaning security is always high in these compounds and everyone is on the lookout for people who don’t belong. On the other hand, cults usually want new members, and will invite in visitors if when they think those visitors can be inducted into the cult.
Prison Towns
Most prisons are located far from any urban area. Small towns grow up around prisons: housing for prison guards and staff and their families, then stores, schools, hospitals, etc. There is usually at least one cheap hotel catering to people who have travelled long distances to visit loved ones in the prison. Prison breaks do happen occasionally, and there is usually alarm in the town until escapees are caught. Although most prison guards are good people, a few are sadists (drawn to the job by the promise of power to hurt people) and a few are turned mean by the stresses of the job. These bad guards are not just a danger to prisoners but to community members as well.
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Community by Population
Population 50-200
This is the smallest population that can support anything that might be called “a town.”
Commercial: No stores, offices or other
commercial properties. Residents must travel to other communities or use mail or- der for shopping. If any commercial activ- ity is going on, it is out of people’s homes.
Government: This is typically an unincor-
porated area without its own government. The town is ruled by the county govern- ment. There is usually no Post Office, but there is rural mail delivery from a nearby Post Office. There may be a tiny school, or kids may have to be bussed long distances to a larger community to go to school. Law enforcement is by county sheriffs whose offices are in distant towns. Firefighters are volunteers with no firehouse.
Population 200-500
Commercial: There is likely a general
store that sells groceries, sundries and hardware. There are probably one or two small churches. If an agricultural town, there will be a feed store.
Government: An unincorporated area
ruled by the county. There is a small school. County sheriffs act as law enforcement. Volunteer firefighters may or may not have a small firehouse.
Population 500-1,000
Commercial: A market, gas station, two
churches, a school, a gift or antique shop, a coffee shop or small restaurant, a bar, a laundromat and RV park.
Government: An unincorporated area.
Has a Post Office and a volunteer fire department with a firehouse. There is an elementary school and/or a high school. There may or may not be a small sheriff’s substation (little more than a small shack that county sheriffs use when they visit the area). There is likely some sort of community center used for parties, meetings, etc. (perhaps a Grange Hall or Elks Lodge).
Population 1,000-5,000
Commercial: Grocery store, drug store, a few
restaurants, one or two bars, a doctor’s office, and some small stores including a clothing store.
Government: Likely this is an incorporated
township with an (unpaid) town council. It has a small police station with two or three officers. There is a Post Office and a firehouse with one full time fire chief and several part-time firefighters. There is an elementary school and high school. There is probably a small library. Population 5,000-20,0000
This is about as big as a community can get and still have a “small town feel.” These are communities with significant economic engines (a resort town, prison town, school town, etc.). For some rural counties, a town of this size would be the county seat.
Commercial: At least two grocery stores (a
normal one, and an upscale one with organic products for wealthier residents), a drug store, a movie theater, a handful of bars (catering to dif- ferent clientele, including one which is popular with, although not exclusive to, gays and les- bians), a small retail district with several small shops of different kinds (clothing, antiques, gifts, appliances), a record store, a video rental store, an auto-parts store, an automotive shop, several restaurants (ranging from fairly fancy sit-down restaurants, to diners, to popular fast- food franchises), a hotel and bed-and-breakfast (or several, if this is a tourist destination). There are offices, such as for realtors, attorneys, and medical offices. There may even be a small urgent-care hospital. There is a retirement home and a mortician. There is a local internet service provider that also sells and repairs com- puters. Nearby the town may be a winery, a historic ranch or farm (now turned into a tourist attraction), an Indian casino, a small airfield or an “interpretive center” for whatever the local wilderness or nature preserve is.
Government: This is likely an incorporated city
with a city government and a full-time mayor. There are several full-time police officers and fire fighters. There is a chamber of commerce and an office of social services. The town is not large enough to have a courthouse (instead, trials take place at the county courthouse).