WABASH, INDIANA --
Terri Francis-Ahlfeld, who owns The Francis Shoppe along with her mother Marjorie Francis at center, assists local author Jennifer McSpadden as she shops at the high-end women's clothing boutique in downtown Wabash, Ind., on Thursday, Feb. 12, 2015. Marjorie Francis, who opened the shop in 1961, said that she has seen good times and bad in downtown Wabash but refused to move to a shopping mall. "We had to do something," she said.
Wabash, which currently has about 10,500 residents, is one of many small American towns trying to make a transition from an industrial past to a knowledge-based and creative economy.
CREDIT: Alyssa Schukar for The Wall Street Journal
Slug: "WABASH"