More than many other American communities, the key to the future of Staunton and Augusta County can be found in the area’s fascinating past.
And while we could go back to the 1730s when the first Europeans settled in our area, to seek clues to our future economy we need go back only a century, to the peak of our area’s economic prosperity.
1910: A Thriving Regional Economy
In 1910, Staunton was the center of a thriving regional economy that stretched into Augusta County and beyond, primarily based on farming and food processing, energy (coal), manufactures, and transportation.
As an important rail junction, Staunton shipped raw materials from the West to markets along the Eastern seaboard, and sent manufactures from the factories of the East out to customers beyond the Appalachians. We also enjoyed a thriving cultural scene to serve the many rail travelers who passed through on business or pleasure along with bustling retail stores to serve farmers coming into town from the county.
1950-1990s: A Struggling Backwater of a Globalized Economy
In the Age of Oil that dominated America from World War II until the current recession, Staunton and other rural areas were eclipsed by fast-growing suburbs. As suburbia was built out, McMansions on cul de sacs became the preferred housing for the era’s professional class, just as office parks were the place to be for the hottest companies of the time.
As farming and manufacturing jobs wound down and careers in services ramped up, working-age people flocked to big cities as well as suburban areas like Orange County, CA, or, closer to home, Fairfax County, VA.
1990-2010: The Come-Back Kid
Staunton was able to preserve key assets from a century ago that will help us to thrive in the economy of the future, saving both the city’s railway station and the nineteenth-century core of its walkable downtown from the urban-renewal wrecking ball of the 1970s.
At the same time, even as many towns our size essentially shut down as manufacturing jobs increasingly migrated to Mexico and China, Staunton managed to retain and even build a base of small manufacturing companies and other local economic assets that could be the kernel of a strong re-localized economy.
The city also built key tourism assets including attractions such as the Blackfriars Playhouse, hotels and B&Bs, and restaurants and cafes that could retain or even increase their value in a more localized tourism market (less flying, more driving and rail). In the more distant future, our cultural infrastructure could help carry local citizens over into a more localized era of culture and entertainment.
2010 and Beyond: The City of the Future?
Today, as the Age of Oil draws to a close and America’s economy starts to return from global to more local, Staunton may now be poised to again become a center of regional trade and enjoy a prosperity it hasn’t seen in 70 years or more.
