Get On, Clip In, Fall Off

Small Town America

I was watching a classic American movie last night (okay, I was watching Gremlins), and found myself wondering whether the kind of small towns which Hollywood portrays actually still exist. They seem to be idyllic little communities - everyone at least vaguely knows everyone else, it always snows at Christmas, and (in the case of Gremlins, that is) nerdy types like Zach Galligan get to snog Phoebe Cates. The small town is such a pervasive image in America that even Springfield (home of the Simpsons, in case you needed telling) seems to be such a community, regardless of the fact that the place regularly grows and shrinks hugely from one episode to the next.

Of course, the towns which appear in the movies have generally been constructed on studio backlots. If you don't believe me, watch Gremlins, then watch Back To The Future - the same town sets were used for both. It can't all be a Hollywood fabrication, though. There must have been some real-life prototypes for these small towns which have been featured in American movies since time began, so here's my question - where are they?

Do these communities still exist in the way that they are portrayed in films, or have they all been long since covered with Wal-Marts and strip malls? I'd be grateful for any insights which could help this foreigner to answer this riddle, especially as I'm beginning to think that going in search of that semi-mythical small-town America might make for a fun road trip sometime.