DiscoverReimagine RuralS3E2 How Canton, North Carolina, is maintaining its identity and resilience after multiple disasters
S3E2 How Canton, North Carolina, is maintaining its identity and resilience  after multiple disasters

S3E2 How Canton, North Carolina, is maintaining its identity and resilience after multiple disasters

Update: 2025-07-29
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A single natural disaster can change a community for generations. In the span of five years, Canton, North Carolina, experienced Tropical Storm Fred, Hurricane Helene, and a significant economic shock: the closure of its paper mill. The 115-year-old institution had employed more than a thousand people and was a source of pride for workers and their families. In this episode, Tony Pipa visits Canton to understand how residents are working together to navigate this series of crises, and what it means to be a mill town without a mill.

See also Tony's interview with Matt Calabria, director of the Governor's Recovery Office for Western North Carolina, to learn more about how state leadership is coordinating recovery after the most devastating storm in state history.

Episode transcript and show notes.

Reimagine Rural is part of the Brookings Podcast Network. Subscribe and listen wherever you listen to podcasts. Send feedback to podcasts@brookings.edu.

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S3E2 How Canton, North Carolina, is maintaining its identity and resilience  after multiple disasters

S3E2 How Canton, North Carolina, is maintaining its identity and resilience after multiple disasters