Why were boomtowns important

Gold rush towns usually shrink and disappear after the gold is dug up. They become ghost town s. The word can also be used for places that grow for other reasons. This can be the town being near a major city, in a nice climate or near a popular attraction. Early boomtowns, such as Leeds , Liverpool , and Manchester , experienced a dramatic surge in population and economic activity during the Industrial Revolution at the turn of the 19th century.

In pre-industrial England these towns had been relative backwaters, compared to the more important market towns of Bristol , Norwich , and York , but they soon became major urban and industrial centres. Although these boomtowns did not directly owe their sudden growth to the discovery of a local natural resource, the factories were set up there to take advantage of the excellent Midlands infrastructure and the availability of large seams of cheap coal for fuel.

Another typical boom town is Trieste in Italy. During this stage communities will see an increase in population and enhanced economic activity. For example, a Pennsylvania study indicated that the drilling and infrastructure development phases account for 80 percent of oil and gas employment Brundage, et al. As noted above, the increase in population to support short-term construction activity is a common characteristic found in boomtowns.

In stage three, communities experience additional investments in supportive supply chains and midstream development such as natural gas processing facilities. In stage four, the mature stage of production, new construction has slowed leading to a regression in the migratory workforce.

Rather than new construction jobs, economic activity is now based on operations and maintenance jobs, as well as royalty payments connected to oil and gas production. A sudden increase in population, wealth and economic activity due to a sudden shock can create a boomtown scenario for communities. While there have been numerous types of economic shocks to trigger boomtowns e.

While economic shocks contributing to a boomtown are well documented, every community will respond differently. Historical data indicate there is a beginning and an end to an economic boom for communities.

This material is based upon work that is supported by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author s and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.

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For an accessible format of this publication, visit cfaes. Skip to main content. Introduction — What is a Boomtown? All these swift growths demanded money: money for new plants — money for expansion — money for working capital. The cry everywhere was for money — more money — and yet more money. Combination Mine. The gold and silver strikes in Tonopah and Goldfield at the turn of the century were the last of the great bonanza strikes in the United States.

While mining continues as a major industry in the West, the gold and silver rushes with their booming mining camps were a thing of the past by World War I. The great California gold rush of boomed California and turned San Francisco into a major financial center. The Comstock bonanza of populated Northern Nevada and further enriched San Francisco stock brokers and financial institutions.

Although gold was discovered in Southern Nevada in Eldorado Canyon on the Colorado River in , and silver in Pioche in , these camps were remote and isolated from other population centers and from any rail lines, so these southern mining districts never experienced the rush of people that northern mining camps did. Then an unprecedented national economic panic in caused by over speculation in stocks, in which mining and railroads played a major role, brought on a general contraction in the economy and a tightening of the capital necessary for the development and sustaining of mining operations.

The great Comstock rush was over as the mines played out or the companies went bankrupt, and the population left for opportunities elsewhere. These opportunities presented themselves in enormously rich deposits of copper discovered in Montana in , gold in the Black Hills of South Dakota in , and silver in Cripple Creek Colorado in The influx of silver bullion into the economy, with its inevitable speculation and inflation, brought about another financial panic and recession in and the collapse of the price of silver.

Then gold was discovered in the Yukon and the great Alaskan gold rush followed in The successive mining camps attracted the same groups of inveterate prospectors, engineers, transients, fortune hunters, and speculators, but also hardened professional miners and big business, who clashed violently in this period of unregulated industrialization and monopoly, nascent socialism, and labor organization.

It is no fluke of historical survival that what remains of most mining companies was the paper they printed on, because many of these companies existed only or mostly on paper. After ore was discovered, money was required to mine, transport, and process it. Machinery and equipment had to be purchased, shipped, installed, and maintained.