Most towns were crucial to the initial colonization and economic development of the Great Plains. Many were, directly or indirectly, creatures of railroad corporate planning, owing their location as well as their physical layout to the townsite companies controlled by railroad officials. This article examines how these facts shaped the fundamental…

Compared and described in this paper are past and present social and political factors which affect the composition, status, and cohesion of urban communities. (EB)

Evaluation of data available for Muncie (Indiana) in the 1850-1880 period indicates that all occupational groups experienced upward mobility in terms of an increased value of their property, Muncie's population was of a transient nature, the area changed from village to city, and the number of people attracted to Muncie was greater than the number…

This third volume of a six-volume study of a school district code-named "Milford" shifts attention to the Kensington School itself. To explain the "profound changes" this "once innovative school" went through, the authors begin with such wider topics as demography, neighborhoods, and political jurisdiction. Chapter 1 traces Milford's "Native…

Identifies the importance of studying those western frontier communities which survived several boom bust cycles. Describes several South Pass Wyoming mining towns and urges that studies such as these be used by teachers to investigate the dynamic forces which shaped their towns and cities. (KO)

Designed for inclusion in an eighth grade course on U.S. history or civics, this unit introduces local students to the history of Alexandria (Virginia) through a study of its buildings and urban growth. By examining factors which have changed the community (technology, transportation, economic influences) as well as the relationship between…

One of twelve instructional units in the Native American Career Education (NACE) program, this unit is intended to help Indian junior high school students understand some of the principles which govern cultural change and to show how it is possible to adapt to change while retaining essential cultural elements. The five activities in the unit…