In my region of Virginia, furniture and textiles were most of the economy until the 1990s. They fought globalization until the bitter end but ultimately lost the battle. The area has never really recovered but many of the buildings are kept clean and in good repair — I like to think out of pure hope. A great book about the furniture industry in southwestern Virginia is “Factory Man” by Beth Macy. Of course NC was also big on furniture. It was all a connected network that started with one family that branched out.