Our Smallest Towns: Big Falls, Blue Eye, Bonanza, & Beyond

by Dennis Kitchen

From Alabama to Wyoming, photographer Dennis Kitchen has roamed the lonesome highways to capture the quirky quintessence of Small Town, America. Journeying to the least populated town in each of the fifty states, Kitchen has discovered places so small that "the groom had to hold the shotgun himself." His beautiful, sepia-toned panoramic portraits are accompanied by interviews with these stalwart citizens, revealing the ins and outs of small-town living - how your wife was the mayor before you were, how your house doubles as the post office, and how the biggest community problem is "getting rid of varmints."

Genres: Nonfiction, Photography, Coffee Table Books

112 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 1995

Reviews

[Carrie Rectenwal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Picked up this book for a dollar in a secondhand shop while visiting my sister in Chicago, and just now read the entirety on the train ride back home. As someone interested in both history and photography, this was super fascinating, and killed a little more than an hour of my train ride. You better believe I'm going to be researching these towns and what became of them at some point!!!

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Patterns in what I read. I am fascinated by the notion of the soul of the soil. That almost indefinable quality that sets one place apart from another. State historical journals are great for this, by the way. Anyway, this book is a fun project Kitchen decided to pursue. In 1995, he assembled a list of the smallest official town in each of the fifty states, then wrote to each town, asking permission to try to get a group shot of as many of the residents as possible, in front of some town landmark. Every one of them, save Dering Harbor, NY, agreed. To accompany each group shot, Kitchen talked to residents and used excerpts from these interviews to define the town in time and place. A very interesting book, and the photos are fun. I have to admit some of said photos are pretty depressing too. In quite a few, you can see that the average age of the residents is in the mid-50's or higher. I often lament, wondering what we lose when a language dies. By extension, what do we lose when a town dies?

[Mike Ward · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely book of photos and stories - one from each of America's states - full review here

http://0651frombrighton.blogspot.co.u...

[Jack Webb · Rating 4 out of 5]

When this book was first published in 1995, it was probably the perfect coffee table book. In the year I write this review, 2023, it's more of a niche historical curiosity.

OUR SMALLEST TOWNS, a themed photography book by Dennis Kitchen, takes us alphabetically through the USA, to each state's smallest town (according to US census data at the time). In each location, Kitchen presents us with a large, sepia photo of a key piece of the townscape and the local townsfolk--8 people, 25 people, or even just 2 people--and 1 or 2 statements from key residents. Although each town only gets a single double-page spread, Kitchen is masterful at selecting just the right quotes and just the right locations for his photos to bathe the reader in atmosphere and provide those glimpses into a quiet, rural-American way of living that he seeks to capture.

I enjoyed this book a lot, but I recognize that a big part of my enjoyment stems from the fact that I was alive in 1995 and old enough to remember what most of the US was like at the time. The book derives much of its power from the contrast between the rest of "modern" America in 1995 and how the people in each of these small towns lives, and if the reader doesn't have direct knowledge of the former experience, it's not likely to hit as hard. Still, for those interested in American history, there is still interest and pleasure to be derived from a book that shows literal snapshots of small-town life before the turn of the last century. It's just that this audience is smaller than an audience likely to be interested in how people live in the smallest American towns today.

Four stars for the right reader (who is me). Probably three stars for most anyone else.

[The_J · Rating 4 out of 5]

Less a bump in the road than a Divot.

[Elaine Meszaros · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m a sucker for photo essays. This is one of my favorites. Kitchen traveled the US, photographing the smallest towns in each state. What a variety of responses he received! Some towns turned out in full force - all 2,4 or 6 of them. Others requested that their town not be photographed because they didn’t want people moving there (one town said they couldn’t afford the taxes if another family moved in and had children who needed schooling). Other towns eagerly encouraged people to move there - even giving away land. The short comments by residents provide a wonderful feeling of the towns. Some talk sadly about the town dwindling. Others like their town small and enjoy knowing all the neighbors. Check out these great small towns- from private gated communities to empty lots, the former home of thousands.

[Katie Kenig · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting book, mainly photography.

Having spent half of my childhood in a tiny town similar to the ones in this book (smaller than many!) the faces and stories really resonated with my heart.

[Martin Bihl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tremendous photography, and a great subject.