JPG Magazine: Stories: Photo Essay: When a Small Town Dies

When a Small Town Dies

By Jeff Bryson

15 November 2007

Rambling through the streets of Huntington, WV, in our vintage 2003 Chevy Astro van, my son, Roman, only 4 years old at the time, asked, "Daddy, does Huntington collect empty buildings?" With a look of chagrin and nostalgia I simply replied, "Yes, it certainly appears that way."

More than 25 years ago (I was still in high school), Huntington had an idea for a superblock, but the downtown business owners opposed it, and a mall was built just off I-64 in Barboursville. Downtown Huntington died. So a few years ago Pullman Square was opened and downtown seemed to get a burst of new life. Unfortunately, rent is high and businesses in the area have already started to close or go under new management. The feature film, "We Are Marshall . . ." helped some, but growth is slow. And the Detroit drug dealers call us Moneyton!

Back in the 1960's I remember when Huntington was so populated that--for Christmas shopping--my father would have to drop off my mother and drive around the block till she was done because there were no parking spots. Back in those days, we could buy singles and LPs (Beatles, Simon & Garfunkle) and be given a free copy of Billboard's top 40. We talked to each other on the street, "Hello," "Good afternoon," "Glad to see you today." Now we look down and don't acknowledge our fellow travelers.

This collection of images--all taken within 6 blocks of the Cabell County Court House--is in tribute to Huntington. Home of Marshall University (the plane crash, Troy Brown, Chad Pennington, Randy Moss and Byron Leftwich). Home of Carwood Lipton (of Easy Company in Band of Brothers). Home of simple, but honest folk.

This is the way the town ends, not with a bang, but with a whimper.

Technical data: All but "Film Noir" and "We Are Marshall" were shot with the Canon 5D. Those two were shot with the Digital Rebel XTi. All were shot in monochrome picture style. Those shot with the 5D were shot in customized monochrome picture style, with tone set to sepia. No photoshoping was done to most of the images.