Gameplay notes: Pincher County in depth

The remote valleys and desolate ridges of what is now Pincher County seem to have received little human visitation before white settlement, though there is evidence of Catawba settlement along the Jackson River Valley. The first trails were blazed in the 1750's and the area became known for its rich iron ore deposits. The iron industry was the primary income until shortly after the First Civil War, and the ruins of old foundries can still be seen to this day.

Agriculture and timber became the principle means of support until the Second Wold War, when this too became exhausted. The sawmills began shutting down, two of the three railroads were abandoned, and the people started leaving. In 1935, the population of the county peaked at 16,000 citizens, most in Aintry and the county seat of Pincherville. The population began declining throughout the mid and late twentieth century, and by 1990 it was down to some 6,000, the majority living in Pincherville.

The story of Pincher County was the story much of rural America in general and rural Appalachia in particular. Those who haven't gone elsewhere tend to be old and poor, and the UN doesn't expect much trouble from them. Drugs are crime are a big problem among the younger remnant, much of the population lives off the gruel passed out in the food lines and would rather not see their welfare cut off. For any would-be revolutionary, convincing the locals to bite the hand that feeds them is going to be very tough job indeed.

But, that's your job.

Geography

Coffee Stains=Family Seal

Pincher county had a total area of about 375 square miles and a population density of 16 persons per square mile. It is roughly divided into six valleys moving roughly from north-northeast to south-southwest. Most of the valleys have one or more large streams or rivers flowing through them, as their names will attest. The lowest elevation in the county is 1480 feet, and the highest point is 4050 feet.

Adjacent counties are Pocohantas County to the northwest, Greenbrier County to the west, Alleghany County to the south, Rockbridge County to the east, and Bath County to the north.

Populated Places

Incorporated towns:
-Pincherville, Three Creeks Valley: Population 3,500. County seat sitting on the state highway. The rail station was long ago boarded up, but there was still enough trucks coming through for the local cops to stay in the black writing tickets.

-Aintry, Jackson River Valley: Population 1,000. Little town in a big, deep river gorge that would have become a lake in 1978 were it not for an environmentalist's bomb. Some of the lowest-lying buildings still show signs of the high water mark.

Unincorporated towns:
-Dunnet, Jackson River Valley: population 137. Former junction now marked with a Civil War monument in severe disrepair. There was a gas station here, but it burned during the war.

-Piker's Forge, Jackson River Valley: population 125. Site of some rather impressive ruins in the woods, but there's nothing much else to say about the area.

-Hill Springs, Flats Creek Valley: population 208. A cafe and gas station on the road from Dunnet to Pincherville, once known for multiple resorts, now abandoned.

-Low Springs, Flats Creek Valley: population 180. Same as above. Replace "cafe and gas station" with bait shop and camping store, as well as various shops that once served tourists coming from the resorts and nearby airport. This is one of the only places in the county where you can legally buy ammunition and maybe even a gun (though your ID had better be good, you'll require the approval of the sheriff's office, and don't expect anything more advanced than a muzzleloading squirrel gun).

-Blockerville, North Fork Valley: population 120. Former lumber town, now an isolated farming community with an abandoned warehouse district nearby.

-Thorne's Quarry, North Fork Valley: population 140. An oddity. This location was (and still is) known for it's limestone production. The abandoned mines and open pits are said to be quite impressive.

-Townes Hollow, Iron Valley: population 70. Another iron town, known for being surrounded by rather scenic cliffs on three sides. Iron Valley is one of the wilder, more overlooked portions of the county.

-Linseed, Rails Valley: no population. Rail town on the only extant rail in the county. Citizens removed to gulags by the UN after nearby attacks on the freight trains.

-Freeman's Forge, Rails Valley: population 150. One of the last Foundry Towns founded in the area, this community is one of the most isolated in the county, unreachable by car until the 1980's and not easy to reach to this day. It is home to almost all of Pincher County's black population, descended from freed slaves who moved deep into the hills after the civil war. The folks who live here are survivors; they live off the land and generally keep to themselves. Anyone who could ingratiate himself into the community—and that would be quite a task—would find the very kind of guerrilla force that John Brown had wanted.

Other settlements
There's a refugee camp on the grounds of the airport with a large, transient population. Local authorities keep an eye on them, but they're largely dismissed as useless eaters (which, for the most part, they are).

Any time I use the phrase "abandoned", it can be assumed that the location in question is anything but. Pincher County is full of vagrants, outcasts and outlaws. As mentioned before, the ruins and forests are filled with people who, for whatever reason, can't live a normal life. Some have lost their minds from the trauma of war and returned to a pre-civilized existence. Some are returning veterans who fear arrest and oppression at the hands of the UN authorities. There are even reports of some who won't accept defeat and have taken to the hills as partisans. *wink*

Organizations

-Pincher County Sheriff's Office, United States Garrison Force: a common joke is that when the UN came in they emptied the drunk tanks of all the local jails and put the inhabitants in uniform. That ain't quite true, but it's close enough. Walt Williams is a former con-man and general ne'er-do-well with no prior qualifications for the job, who nonetheless seems to be quite good at it. His second-in-command is a former college professor, dedicated socialist and Pol Pot fan eager to to reeducate the people of Pincher County. There is some debate as to who is really in charge.

They have 39 deputies in total, plus 4 advisers from Brazilian police agencies. They have two EE-11 armored cars to supplement their pickup trucks and cruisers and are generally armed with an even mix of M-16s, shotguns, and tear-gas or flashbang grenades. Heavier weapons will be rare. Overall, they're good at dealing with old people and the odd lunatic with a hunting rifle, but it remains to be seen if they could fight it out with a dedicated team of trained marksmen.

-The Henderson Family. Doug Henderson is a long-time rival of Walt's momma's people (who generally didn't like Walt and seldom let him in on their more profitable wrongdoings) and was the more powerful of the county's criminal kingpin's before the invasion. The UN used that old colonialist trick of smashing the biggest tribe, taking the second strongest one and letting them administrate for them.

Doug only has a few trustworthy members left in his gang. He can call upon about a dozen minions for footwork at any given time, but these are mostly low-lifes who get their drugs from him or otherwise owe him favors. His true remaining strength is his human intelligence assets. It ain't quite like the old days where he knew of and usually had a hand in every dark deed that occurred in the county, but he's still probably only second to the Devil.

-Railroad Police: I've allready mentioned these and will try not to repeat myself. They'll number about 12 to a bunker or troop car (variable number per train) and will be very well equipped: with assault rifles, machine guns, grenade launchers, mortars, and possibly light cannons. However, they only operate in Rails Gorge and on the trains themselves and won't be a danger unless provoked.

-Virginia Department of Education: there are two elementary schools, one middle school and one high school in Pincher County, with 831 students enrolled. The public schools, here and everywhere, focus mostly on socialist indoctrination and are known for their tyrannical and abusive atmosphere. Only a third of the children in the county are thought to regularly attend classes in spite of draconian truancy laws. Enforcement of those laws is the duty of the Sheriff's Office, who at the moment are preoccupied with more pressing concerns. If that ever changes, or if the state ever sends state truancy/child safety officers into the county, it will not go over well with the citizens.