Basic City was an
incorporated town
An incorporated town is a town that is a municipal corporation.
Canada
Incorporated towns are a form of local government in Canada, which is a responsibility of provincial rather than federal government.
United Kingdom
United States
An in ...
located in
Augusta County, Virginia
Augusta County is a county in the Shenandoah Valley on the western edge of the Commonwealth of Virginia. The second-largest county of Virginia by total area, it completely surrounds the independent cities of Staunton and Waynesboro. Its county ...
, in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. Formed in 1890, it was named after a process for steel manufacture.
This process was to be implemented in Basic City, and gave rise to
land speculation
In finance, speculation is the purchase of an asset (a commodity, goods, or real estate) with the hope that it will become more valuable shortly. (It can also refer to short sales in which the speculator hopes for a decline in value.)
Many s ...
. There was a
boomtown
A boomtown is a community that undergoes sudden and rapid population and economic growth, or that is started from scratch. The growth is normally attributed to the nearby discovery of a precious resource such as gold, silver, or oil, although ...
rally of manufacturing and commercial development in Basic City between 1890 and 1893 as two railroads crossed here at a point called The Iron Cross: the Norfolk and Western and the Chesapeake and Ohio. Basic City was once bigger than the surrounding city of
Waynesboro, Virginia
Waynesboro (formerly Flack) is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is a principal city of the Staunton-Waynesboro Metropolitan Statistical Area. Waynesboro is located in the Shenandoah Valley and is surrounded by Augusta Cou ...
. As the national economy experienced a
depression between 1893 and 1896, sources of investment money disappeared and many new industries in Basic City experienced bankruptcy and closed. The town's real estate bubble burst and many businesses started between 1890 and 1893 did not survive.
In 1924, Basic City consolidated with the adjacent
Town of Waynesboro, which had been formed in 1798. The new name for the town was called Waynesboro-Basic. It was later renamed "Waynesboro".
In 1948, the Town of Waynesboro became an
independent city
An independent city or independent town is a city or town that does not form part of another general-purpose local government entity (such as a province).
Historical precursors
In the Holy Roman Empire, and to a degree in its successor states ...
. However, Basic City had become one of the
"Lost Towns" of Virginia. In modern times, only a handful of buildings and businesses bear the Basic name. One of them is the Basic City Luncheonette.
The city-owned Basic Park is another. Th
Basic City Beer Companyis a recent enterprise set up in the east end of the otherwise-vacant forme
Virginia Metalcraftersfabrication complex. At least one church, Basic United Methodist Church
BUMc has long had the word ''Basic'' in its name.
References
{{reflist
Geography of Augusta County, Virginia
Former municipalities in Virginia
Waynesboro, Virginia
Populated places established in 1890
1890 establishments in Virginia
Populated places disestablished in 1924
1924 disestablishments in Virginia