(bright guitar music) - [Jason] Have you ever heard of a company town?

Popular in the late 19th century and early 20th centuries, these towns were built by corporations to support a factory mill or mine.

They often included a general store, schools, housing and churches, everything a worker and their families might need.

Badin, the Stanly County town with the French name is a prime example.

- [James] Badin had its heyday.

In fact, it was so busy in Badin that people in Albemarle would take a bus to come to Badin.

Right now it's probably the opposite, right?

- At Badin Coffee.

- White chocolate, dirty chai.

Any food today, guys?

- [Jason] James Wahab serves up some sweet treats.

- [James] Strawberry Danish it is.

We have a winner.

- [Jason] And brews a variety of beverages.

- This is Bella, this machine produces a lot of great espresso for the town of Badin.

It's nice to have a small town coffee shop.

- [Jason] James and his wife set up shop along historic Falls Road, Badin's defacto main street.

- Originally this was Badin Hardware.

Badin is one of those small towns that got caught in history.

It's outside of major city limits and it's kind of this one of those towns that time forgot.

- [Jason] Since opening their little shop, word's gotten out, and once again, folks like John Jenkins from Albemarle make the trip to Badin.

- I came out for some sweets and as you see, I've had three different desserts and a caramel latte, and just really, just hanging out.

It's a great place to hang out.

The specific desserts are, like, you can't get 'em anywhere.

They make 'em fresh, they are unique.

- Our apple turnovers are a little legendary, and we got these macaroons we just started.

Those are homemade, and that is not easy.

Those are tricky little cookies.

- [Jason] Tricky little French cookies seem fitting in this small North Carolina town with a French connection.

(motorcycle engine revving) Drive the streets of Badin and you might notice distinct four-unit townhouses and old stone line storm drains.

It's effectively a planned community.

A plan started in the spring of 1913 by the French company, L'Aluminum Francais, and named after the company President Adrien Badin.

To feed the power devouring aluminum smelter, the French company started building a hydroelectric dam on the Yadkin River.

But best laid plans don't always work out.

(guns firing) In 1914, World War I broke out across Europe and as a result, financing for the project dried up for the French.

And American investors took advantage of the abrupt French exit.

Eventually, the Pennsylvania based aluminum company of America, also known as Alcoa, took over to finish construction of the dam, the aluminum plant and town.

- I grew up in the town of Badin.

I'm a third generation Alcoan.

My grandfather, he worked in the plant.

My father worked in the plant.

I was fortunate, I got to work there towards the end.

- [Jason] Change, however, was on the horizon for Badin.

After nearly a century in operation, the Alcoa plant produced its last aluminum in 2010.

In recent years, other industries have moved to the site.

- There is a small recycling unit over there now that they try and recycle electronics.

There's an outfit coming in, Consolidated Alloys, they've invested coming in here to build these pipe fittings for the Navy.

- [Jason] More than a century since its founding, Badin now finds itself in transition.

- We're like a unique retirement community.

We got very limited business, but we have people coming to Badin and retiring.

If you grew up in a small town, Badin's still got that atmosphere.

- [Jason] Laid back, but still with a lot to offer.

- The big thing is the lake and having the boat access, a lot of fishing, that's the big thing.

We have lots of tournaments here.

The other thing is Morrow Mountain State Park is very close.

- [Jason] Back at the coffee shop, James sums up the energy of Badin.

- To meet lots of nice people, it has a nice small hometown feel that people are really looking for.

I think some of them are trying to escape the city and find a nice small town where they can feel at home and welcomed.

And everybody comes through that front door is welcome.

- [Jason] Badin isn't the only small town working to reinvent itself.

Down in Anson County, the town of Wadesboro's economy relied on the textile industry for much of the 20th century.

But when the American textile industry declined, Wadesboro's once vibrant business district suffered.

- [Resident] It's a little slower than it was then.

- Downtown's a little different, a little more conservative.

It's little more quieter.

A lot of the like, the big belt stores, you know, they're no longer there.

They did have the movie theater too back then, and it was up and running real well.

So now they have their back, so they're doing plays instead of showing movies.

- [Jason] The live plays happening at the Ansonia Theater are just one of the signs that Wadesboro's Downtown is seeing renewed investment.

- My name is Monica Schulze.

I am the owner and executive chef for the Ansonia Soup Company.

And we feature fresh made soups, salads, panini's, homemade breads, scratch made European desserts every single day.

- [Jason] Schulze took a risk in starting her restaurant.

- I believe Wadesboro is in the very beginning of a renaissance.

There are businesses that are coming in.

There are new ideas for businesses that are out there.

This is brand new.

Wadesboro's never seen anything like what we do.

- [Jason] Originally from Pennsylvania, Schulze only recently adopted Wadesboro as her new hometown.

- I have lived in big cities.

I've been in Chicago, Miami, and Los Angeles, San Francisco, and I would trade it all just to be here.

The big city is not all as cracked up to be granted.

There is accessibility for ingredients.

There's accessibility for, you know, fine restaurants and entertainment.

There's all of the things that are luxuries, but I wouldn't want to go back to that, because of so many people, because of the crime, because of the expense, because you don't even get to know your neighbor that much anymore.

Here we all know each other.

- [Jason] Small town economies are often dependent on a single industry, and when the industry goes away, it's the creativity and determination of the residents in towns like Badin and Wadesboro that keep the towns alive and vibrant.

For "Carolina Impact," I'm Jason Terzis reporting.