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Post by deekaye on Apr 14, 2016 20:59:44 GMT
I just finished binge watching Hart of Dixie (loved it!). The way the town square, the Rammer Jammer (bar), Fancies (Restaurant), the Clinic and other places were all central to the town events was quaint; kind of reminded me of Gilmore Girls. It got me thinking... are there any "real-life" towns like this? Is this a true Southern thing that we don't have up in the Pacific Northwest? We have small towns and a lot of them have unique town events but none that I can think of with a true town square. (And yes, I got a little too invested in thinking about BlueBell! )
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AnotherPea
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Posts: 2,968
Jan 4, 2015 1:47:52 GMT
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Post by AnotherPea on Apr 14, 2016 21:03:45 GMT
Lol!
I am always amazed while watching that show how such a small town can have so many big events. There's always something going on in that town square!
I live near many small towns and they are nothing like Bluebell.
I started watching Ranch and was floored at how a town of 512 people can not only have its own high school, but a football team to boot!
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Post by scrapqueen01 on Apr 14, 2016 21:06:03 GMT
The town I went to college in has a true town square. The courthouse, built in the 1800's is in the center with a street that goes all the way around it with shops. Most of the buildings were built in the 1800's early 1900's. I loved living there.
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perumbula
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Jun 26, 2014 18:51:17 GMT
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Post by perumbula on Apr 14, 2016 21:07:11 GMT
Lol! I am always amazed while watching that show how such a small town can have so many big events. There's always something going on in that town square! I live near many small towns and they are nothing like Bluebell. I started watching Ranch and was floored at how a town of 512 people can not only have its own high school, but a football team to boot! we have towns in my state with their own high school and football team that are about that size. However, it's usually a high school/middle school combo and they play 8 man football. Matt Paradis of the Denver Broncos grew up just up the highway from me in a town just a teeny bit bigger. He played 8 man football in high school. He didn't play 12 man until he went to college.
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Deleted
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May 19, 2024 13:48:15 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Apr 14, 2016 21:08:32 GMT
Oh, yes. There are lots of little towns here in the South with town squares. One town near me holds its Fair on the Square every spring. They also host a farmer's market on Saturdays.
Parking isn't any fun, though, as all the spaces are diagonal to the curb. Sometimes you wait for awhile for a break in traffic so you can back out of your space and be on your way.
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Dalai Mama
Drama Llama
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Post by Dalai Mama on Apr 14, 2016 21:09:28 GMT
I found them to be fairly common in New England too.
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Post by Sparki on Apr 14, 2016 21:11:57 GMT
I live in Santa Fe, and we have a town square - the Plaza.
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Post by peano on Apr 14, 2016 21:17:22 GMT
I've been to several towns like that in Connecticut, but not my town unfortunately, and they are also quite common in other New England states.
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TheOtherMeg
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Jun 25, 2014 20:58:14 GMT
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Post by TheOtherMeg on Apr 14, 2016 21:20:15 GMT
I currently live in a town with a 2 block × 2 block "downtown." hahaha
City Hall, independent shops, restaurant, fire department, library, LOCAL bank (not one of those big city chain banks!), Farmer's Market... That's about it. Down the road a ways are the fast food places.
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Post by disneypal on Apr 14, 2016 21:20:54 GMT
Is this a true Southern thing Yes. I live in the "big city" but most of my family and some friends live in more rural locations (Florida, Georgia, Virginia) and they live in towns like Mayberry. They walk to town, most of the time and do their errands (pay bills, go to the bank, go to the salon, go to the post office, etc. A lot of older towns, now, the square is still there but not a lot of the shops because Walmart or some other bigger stores have moved to the outskirts of town and the smaller stores closed up shop. But in some towns, the town square is still thriving and going. I have a friend that lives in Lexington, VA and that town is very much like that - I feel like I'm on the set of Doc Hollywood when I visit. I love the small hometown and being able to walk to everything. If you ever saw the movie Sommersby, it was filmed there.
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Deleted
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May 19, 2024 13:48:15 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Apr 14, 2016 21:32:13 GMT
I've lived in Texas, Tennessee and Mississippi...town squares are common.
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Post by cmpeter on Apr 14, 2016 21:38:37 GMT
Arcata, CA has a true town square. So does either Napa or Sonoma (can't remember which one).
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Post by deekaye on Apr 14, 2016 21:39:14 GMT
Okay, I can see that exploring Southern states is in order! I've vacationed extensively all over the West Coast and Canada, and some of the Mid-West but only a couple times south to Mobile, Alabama, and a handful of times to the panhandle of Florida (both times for work so not a lot of time for sight-seeing). Thanks for your reassurance that town squares are alive and well!
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Post by JustCallMeMommy on Apr 14, 2016 21:43:08 GMT
There are lots here, but most are pretty run down. Oxford, MS and Canton, MS come to mind as some nice town squares where things really seem to revolve around the square.
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valleyview
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Jun 27, 2014 18:41:26 GMT
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Post by valleyview on Apr 14, 2016 21:43:32 GMT
My small town is the county seat, and yes, we have a town square. Located on the square are the post office, the courthouse, the police and Fire departments, the city building, a bank, restaurants, law offices, and a few shops. On the edge are 4 churches. There are regular events on the square.
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Post by refugeepea on Apr 14, 2016 21:45:10 GMT
There's one near me where I live. I don't think it's typical of Western states. It's not exactly in the center of town. More like on main street.
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Dalai Mama
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Post by Dalai Mama on Apr 14, 2016 21:46:02 GMT
I took a road trip through NE when I was attending university in Montreal and we stumbled upon Woodstock, VT (they had a really nice village green). I think I'd like to go back there with DH.
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Post by lucyg on Apr 14, 2016 21:47:44 GMT
Well, everyone already said every place I was going to mention. Even little Arcata. New England and the Southwest seem to have lots of town squares and plazas. Even Boston still has the famous Boston Common. I'm not at all familiar with small towns in the South, but good to know. cmpeter, it's Sonoma that has the cute plaza area in the center of town.
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Post by papercrafteradvocate on Apr 14, 2016 21:48:06 GMT
I LOVED Hart of Dixie!! I HATED how it ended. I could imagine myself living there, who my friends would be, what business I'd own (lol) and where I'd live!
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Post by just PEAchy on Apr 14, 2016 21:52:45 GMT
A lot of small towns in southern Indiana have them, especially the towns that are the county seat. I used to live in Jasper and it has a pretty nice one. In addition to shops, restaurants and other businesses, they have events throughout the year, maybe 5 or 6.
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Post by craftedbys on Apr 14, 2016 21:54:09 GMT
Here in Mississippi we have some really pretty town squares. Hernando, Holly Springs, and Oxford to name just a few.
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Post by eventhinker on Apr 14, 2016 21:56:48 GMT
Medina Ohio. My brother lives there. Quite charming!
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Post by **GypsyGirl** on Apr 14, 2016 21:59:55 GMT
I've lived in a few towns with town squares. Oxford, MS is where I went to college. DH & I had our first date at a restaurant on the town square! 40 years later the restaurant is still there, but a different name. The town where I lived in Ky. had a traditional town square also. You will also find them in smaller towns around Texas. As for Hart of Dixie - where are ya'll watching it? I missed the last 2 seasons and would love to finish the show.
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AnotherPea
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Post by AnotherPea on Apr 14, 2016 22:01:55 GMT
Lol! I am always amazed while watching that show how such a small town can have so many big events. There's always something going on in that town square! I live near many small towns and they are nothing like Bluebell. I started watching Ranch and was floored at how a town of 512 people can not only have its own high school, but a football team to boot! we have towns in my state with their own high school and football team that are about that size. However, it's usually a high school/middle school combo and they play 8 man football. Matt Paradis of the Denver Broncos grew up just up the highway from me in a town just a teeny bit bigger. He played 8 man football in high school. He didn't play 12 man until he went to college. That amazes me. I've lived in two areas that were small, but still over 2500 people, and we had to be bussed over and hour away to go to school. The school where I teach has right at four times the number of students that that town has residents! I can't even envision how a town would have that many teenagers for 8 of them to make a team. Did girls play too? I live in a pretty diverse neighborhood of 100 single family homes. Last I heard we have a tad over 300 people living here. My neighborhood is over half the size of that town! We have three high school students and four middle school students.
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Post by crimsoncat05 on Apr 14, 2016 22:13:51 GMT
I can think of a few towns with a square right off the bat that I've ever been to or lived near-- The town square is still the 'heart' of town at least in a few of them.
Prescott, AZ (northwest of Phoenix): the county courthouse is in the middle of the square, and it's still the main historic / tourist area of town, full of restaurants, gift shops, bars, and a few historic hotels.
eta: Prescott is the county seat
Sedona, NM has a town square (I think), with a lot of restaurants, gift shops, etc.
Woodstock, IL (the town NW of Chicago where they filmed the movie Groundhog Day) has a real town square. I lived not far from there after college and would shop there every once in a while- there were quite a few nice gift stores on the square.
Monroe, WI (southwestern WI, very close to the IL state line). I grew up about 30 miles away from here, and we used to shop in Monroe all the time. I have fond memories of shopping on the square when I was a little kid; there was an old-fashioned department / dime store, a sporting goods store, etc. I'm not sure if it's still a shopping center of town, or not-- probably not.
eta: I think Monroe is the county seat, and I believe the courthouse is on the square here, also.
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Post by anonrefugee on Apr 14, 2016 22:19:02 GMT
For fun, you should google the county courthouses of Texas. The buildings are gems.
Not all of them still have active town squares, but many do. The ones I visited are a little heavier on antique malls and lighter on commerce than tv shows depict, but they're still nice.
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georgiapea
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Post by georgiapea on Apr 14, 2016 22:24:53 GMT
Yes, mine does. There are real streets involved - Union, Broad, Merrick and Reynolds. But the businesses around the courthouse use "100 N, Court Square, 100, S. Court Square, etc. All businesses opposite the courthouse in all 4 directions think they are super special. Our courthouse sits alone on an entire block, and has a smattering of rather unspectacular vegitation, poorly kept up, around it. The whole think is a joke.
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Post by gypsymama on Apr 14, 2016 22:32:51 GMT
former resident of a '6 man" high school town here... there was one class per grade, 300ish people IN town but the school boundaries went on for probably10-20 miles in some directions, plus that area of texas allowed you to transfer your kids to a neighboring district if you wanted to, so really there were more kids in school than people in the town,lol
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Post by scrapqueen01 on Apr 14, 2016 22:37:20 GMT
Okay, I can see that exploring Southern states is in order! I've vacationed extensively all over the West Coast and Canada, and some of the Mid-West but only a couple times south to Mobile, Alabama, and a handful of times to the panhandle of Florida (both times for work so not a lot of time for sight-seeing). Thanks for your reassurance that town squares are alive and well! Since you've been to southern Alabama you should make a trip to northern Alabama. We have what I believe is one of the first wave pools that was built in the US (according to what I've been told), the Space and Rocket Center and other nice places to visit.
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anaterra
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Post by anaterra on Apr 14, 2016 22:38:30 GMT
Fredericksburg Texas... nice town square... concerts on weekends.. farmers markets... octoberfest... Midsummer nights... fun place to get away to.. plus nice street to walk n shop straight downtown
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