I guess location would have a lot to do with what might be in a small town, but riding my bike around the small town I grew up in, in SE. WI., There was a lumber yard, which also had coal silos that were used. An oil dealer with heating oil, kerosene, etc., the biggest factory in town at the time was a stainless steel tube and pipe manufacturer, the next biggest was a milk products (powdered milk, later on, baby formula, and dryed dairy products used by other food manufacturers), a co-op and a feed mill, two farm equipment dealers (John Deere, and an independent) and repair shops, and on the downtown “square” was a hardware store, two grocery stores, one had a great butcher shop, an independent butcher shop, a “dime store”, a drug store with soda fountain, a movie house, two insurance offices, a couple of lawyers, one jewelery store, two general merchandise stores, like mens and womens cloths, housewares, etc., an electrician’s store which sold lamps, parts, radio tubes, radios, and later tv’s. A bakery, two banks, 4 taverns, two doctor and two dentist offices, and small manufacturer that made parts for Parker Pens, a couple of car dealerships and repair shops, one was a Pontiac dealer, the other was an independent that also fixed trucks.
That about all that comes to mind, besides the schools. There were a couple of plumbers shops, and a small contractor’s office.
Is that a start?
Mike.