Typically, a company town will be isolated from neighbors and centered (figuratively, if not literally) around a large production Factory such as a Lumber or Steel mill or an Automobile plant; and the Citizen s of the town will either work in the factory, work in one of the smaller businesses, or be a family member of someone who does. The company may also operate Park s, host Cultural events such as Concert s, and so on. Needless to say, when the owning company cuts back or goes out of business, the Economic effect on the company town is devastating, and often fatal.
Company towns sometimes become regular Public cities and towns as they grow. Other times, a town may not officially be a company town, but it may be a town where the majority of citizens are employed by a single company, thus creating a similar situation to a company town (especially in regard to the town's economy).
In the United States , it is relatively rare for places in which a single company owns all the property to be granted status as an Incorporated Municipality . Such wholly-owned communities are more likely unincorporated and administered by company officers rather than elected officials. However, there are incorporated municipalities that are heavily dependent upon a single company and may be considered a "company town", even though the company does not technically own the town.
See also: Paternalism .
''See for an unannotated list of articles''
- Acipco, Alabama , formerly owned by American Cast Iron Pipe Co.
- Ajo, Arizona
- Alcoa, Tennessee , owned by Alcoa
- Anyox, British Columbia , a now-abandoned smelter town on Observatory Inlet , near the mouth of the Nass River .
- Bayview, Alabama , formerly owned by Tennessee Coal, Iron And Railroad Co.
- Boulder City, Nevada , built and owned by the United States Bureau Of Reclamation
- Bralorne, British Columbia , and nearby Pioneer Mine, British Columbia ; both famous gold mining towns; Bralorne's third townsite is also known as Bradian
- Bridge River aka Bridge River Townsite, now South Shalalth , a model village developed as part of the Bridge River Power Project and now mostly depopulated.
- Britannia Beach, British Columbia - a semi-abandoned copper and gold mine and crushing plant near Squamish
- Chester, California
- Cohoes, New York , formerly owned by Harmony Mills
- Docena, Alabama , formerly owned by Tennessee Coal, Iron And Railroad Co.
- Edgewater, Alabama , formerly owned by Tennessee Coal, Iron And Railroad Co.
- Espanola, Ontario , owned by Domtar
- Fairfield, Alabama , (1910) originally "Corey", formerly owned by Tennessee Coal, Iron And Railroad Co.
- Fort Vancouver and other former Hudson's Bay Company trading posts-cum-towns in the Pacific Northwest . Others include Colville, Victoria BC, Fort Langley BC, Hope BC and more.
- Fraser Mills, British Columbia, now part of Coquitlam but originally owned by Crown Zellerbach (the company President was the mayor, by default and acclamation). Most workers in Fraser Mills did not live in the "village" (as incorporated) but in nearby Maillardville
- Gary, West Virginia , owned by U.S. Steel
- Hershey, Pennsylvania , built by Hershey Chocolate Corporation
- Kannapolis, North Carolina , owned by Cannon Mills
- Kaulton, Alabama , owned by Kaul Lumber Co.
- Kitimat, British Columbia , based around an aluminum smelter built by Alcoa 's Canadian subsidiary Alcan. Also nearby is Kemano which acccompanies the Kemano powerhouse of the Nechako Diversion
- Kohler, Wisconsin , built by the Kohler Company
- Lynch, Kentucky , built and formerly owned by U.S. Steel
- Oak Ridge, Tennessee , built in secret by the United States government for the Manhattan Project
- Ocean Falls, British Columbia , a now-abandoned pulp mill town on the central BC Coast
- Peale, Pennsylvania (1883-1912)
- Old Hickory, Tennessee , built to house DuPont employees; now a suburb of Nashville
- Playas, New Mexico , built by Phelps Dodge Corporation
- Port Gamble, Washington , owned by Pope & Talbot
- Port Mellon, British Columbia , a pulp mill and town on the east shore of Howe Sound near the Langdale ferry terminal, which is near Sechelt
- Pullman, Chicago , once an independent city within Illinois, owned by the Pullman Sleeping Car Co.
- Proctor, Vermont , once owned by the Vermont Marble Company . The town of Proctor was under the control of Senator Redfield Proctor .
- Spreckels, California , formerly owned by Spreckels Sugar Company
- Sugar Land, Texas , once owned and run by the Imperial Sugar Company, transformed into an upscale suburb
- Woodfibre, British Columbia a pulp mill town on the east shore of Howe Sound near Squamish
- Ybor City, Tampa, Florida , built by Vincente M. Ybor for his Cigar manufacturing businesses, now one of Tampa 's top night spots
- Bagdad, Arizona , owned by Phelps Dodge Corporation
- Lake Buena Vista, Florida , Bay Lake, Florida , and the Reedy Creek Improvement District located within Walt Disney World and owned by The Walt Disney Company
- Morenci, Arizona , owned by Phelps Dodge Corporation
- Newhalem, Washington , owned by Seattle City Light
- Scotia, California , largely owned by the Pacific Lumber Company (PALCO)
- Port Gamble, Washington , owned by Pope Resources
- Irvine, California , largely owned by The Irvine Company
- Linda Carlson, ''Company Towns of the Pacific Northwest,'' 2004 ISBN 0-295-98332-9
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