It's no sin to say that we have it all in Georgia (university, farmers)

[Saintmarks]

Originally Posted by AnsleyPark

My father was a past president of the Georgia Independent Bankers Association, which, back in the 60s and 70s, was a very powerful influence in the state legislature when it came to banking matters. For a long period, Georgia would not even allow Georgia banks to expand beyond the county in which they were headquartered. For instance, the First National Bank of Atlanta could not open a branch in Columbus. This, obviously, was to protect the small rural banking industry from the big city banks. Further, a Georgia-based bank could not expand beyond state lines nor were non-Georgia banks allowed to operate within Georgia.

With the election of Governor George Busbee, all of that changed. The once protective, parochial banking laws were upended during his administration (my father mourned this as the end of local banks). However, by that time, banks from more liberal states had far outgrown even Georgia's largest bank. When the barriers were lifted, Georgia became a prime state for big out-of-state banks to open branches. And, Georgia's banks became acquisition targets of out-of-state banks.

As a result, Georgia's rural and independent banks have mostly gone by the wayside. Many have gone out of business and many have been acquired. Synovus, a Columbus, GA based bank, has acquired many of the state's once independent rural banks. While helping in the demise of small town uniqueness, banks, such as Synovus, have insured that small towns continue to be served by the banking industry.

These points are exactly the ones I remember reading in that article. Thanks for the clarification.


Just recently mourned the closing of the long time bank in my hometown of Hogansville. It was the locally owned Citizens Bank all my childhood and where my family did all of our banking. It became a takeover target and my mother kept her business there at the same building, whoever became the owner. the latest was RBC. In the last year, they decided to close the branch. Now she has to go to LaGrange to do her banking. Sad. One of the nicer buildings in downtown and shuttered.

[AnsleyPark]

Originally Posted by Saintmarks

These points are exactly the ones I remember reading in that article. Thanks for the clarification.


Just recently mourned the closing of the long time bank in my hometown of Hogansville. It was the locally owned Citizens Bank all my childhood and where my family did all of our banking. It became a takeover target and my mother kept her business there at the same building, whoever became the owner. the latest was RBC. In the last year, they decided to close the branch. Now she has to go to LaGrange to do her banking. Sad. One of the nicer buildings in downtown and shuttered.

Small rural towns are sadly disappearing. I grew up in a rural community of about 250 folks. Everything in town depended on small family farmers. Alas, the place is a bit of a ghost town now. So very heartbreaking. I remember riding my bicycle to town to get a slice of hoop cheese and a Johnny cookie with a Yoohoo! from the local grocery / general store. They would charge my extravagant purchase to my mom's "account." Oh, well. As the song says, "You don't know what you've got till it's gone..."

[Mutiny77]

Originally Posted by AnsleyPark

Small rural towns are sadly disappearing. I grew up in a rural community of about 250 folks. Everything in town depended on small family farmers. Alas, the place is a bit of a ghost town now. So very heartbreaking. I remember riding my bicycle to town to get a slice of hoop cheese and a Johnny cookie with a Yoohoo! from the local grocery / general store. They would charge my extravagant purchase to my mom's "account." Oh, well. As the song says, "You don't know what you've got till it's gone..."

Yeah it's pretty sad to see the small town I grew up in dying also. It seems the most viable ones these days are the ones within reasonable commuting distance to a sizable city with a fairly healthy economy.

[Saintmarks]

Originally Posted by AnsleyPark

Small rural towns are sadly disappearing. I grew up in a rural community of about 250 folks. Everything in town depended on small family farmers. Alas, the place is a bit of a ghost town now. So very heartbreaking. I remember riding my bicycle to town to get a slice of hoop cheese and a Johnny cookie with a Yoohoo! from the local grocery / general store. They would charge my extravagant purchase to my mom's "account." Oh, well. As the song says, "You don't know what you've got till it's gone..."

on other fronts Hogansville seems to be doing well if not "thriving" as a small town. It has become more of a bedroom community for Newnan and LaGrange but the main street is full of healthy businesses, several good restaurants, most of the old Victorian homes have been painstakingly restored, the population has held steady above 3,000. Seems that kind of community could at the least support a branch of a bank.

[oobanks]

Originally Posted by Mutiny77

Yeah it's pretty sad to see the small town I grew up in dying also. It seems the most viable ones these days are the ones within reasonable commuting distance to a sizable city with a fairly healthy economy.

Yep, and they are typically Suburbs of a Larger City in most cases, so you get the small town feel downtown but right on the edge of that town there comes that traffic, suburban sprawl, subdivisions, strip shopping plazas, etc. that connects to that Mega big city!! But you guys are right, a true small town is hard to find.

[Saintmarks]

Originally Posted by oobanks

Yep, and they are typically Suburbs of a Larger City in most cases, so you get the small town feel downtown but right on the edge of that town there comes that traffic, suburban sprawl, subdivisions, strip shopping plazas, etc. that connects to that Mega big city!! But you guys are right, a true small town is hard to find.

The several small towns across the state that serve as county seats will not die and dry up totally even though growth might have passed them by. There is enough business to keep many of these afloat for years to come. Of course there is a big difference in towns 500 and less (as Ansley referenced) and ones ten to twenty times that but they all get labeled "small towns" when one considers a mega city like Atlanta in comparison.

[Craziaskowboi]

Originally Posted by chiatldal

Georgia and South Carolina are both Atlantic colonial states Alabama is not. So there no cities with history of Savannah. Charleston. Alabama coastal city is on gulf and have more in common with Louisiana actually.

Birmingham is not actually on the Piedmont but the Cumberland plateau like Nashville because it's on the other side of the Appalachians oblivious similar geography but the same can be said with SC.

And central Georgia cities are on the fault of the Piedmont and the Atlantic coastal plain the line up with more the Carolina cities than Alabama actually.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped..._Plain.svg.png

I think GA has more in common with SC but oblivious a little bit of both.

Outside of Atlanta, Georgia is a blend of South Carolina and Alabama. The parts of Georgia that were part of the Georgia Colony feel more like South Carolina, while the parts of Georgia that weren't feel more like Alabama.

[Mutiny77]

Originally Posted by Craziaskowboi

Outside of Atlanta, Georgia is a blend of South Carolina and Alabama. The parts of Georgia that were part of the Georgia Colony feel more like South Carolina, while the parts of Georgia that weren't feel more like Alabama.

Even including Atlanta, more so from geographic and historic perspectives. Atlanta has similarities to Birmingham, Greenville, and Columbia in those respects.

[SavannahLife]

and increasingly instead of local businesses all these small towns have is Dollar Generals and McJunknald's. :/ I like small towns and small cities but they seem to be disappearing yes, either gone or engulfed in sprawl of suburbia. One good thing from Trump Tariffs maybe they'll help local business and products vs Dollar General selling spatulas from China that melt and give you cancer.

[AnsleyPark]

Originally Posted by SavannahLife

One good thing from Trump Tariffs maybe they'll help local business and products vs Dollar General selling spatulas from China that melt and give you cancer.

Unfortunately, those tariffs will have very large secondary adverse impacts on the farmers who support the economy in our smaller, rural towns. For instance, in retaliation to the President's tariffs on Chinese imports, China is imposing tariffs on the likes of soybeans, which are a very significant cash crop for our state's farmers.