Creating A Model Factory Town

Name of the town: Millstone Village

Company Name: Grant Lumber Incorporated

Resources Available: Water, coal, lumber, crops, livestock

Elements of the town: Sawmill, Housing, Farmland, Rivers, Coal Mine, Factories, Barns

Population: 274

Explanation / Brief History: Millstone is an up and coming town founded in 1822 by Mr. and Mrs. Richard Miller. They have been married for 22 years and have three beautiful young children together . Their family loved each other very much but they never had enough money for rent or to buy a home so they would get in arguments a lot. One day Mr. Miller decided he had had enough and took him and his entire family across the country looking for a fresh start. After days on the road Mr. Miller finally decided that this was it, this was the land he and his family would put down roots. After a few weeks of them living in what is now Millstone village, Mr. Miller invited his good friend Mr. Samuel Copestone to their new home. Mr. Copestone was a bachelor born into a wealthy family and as soon as he saw the land he knew what he wanted to do with his fortune. Mr. Copestone sat down and talked with Mr. and Mrs. Miller about co-founding a town together. Mr. Miller loved this idea and was right on board to get started. Now just over 12 years later their village has grown immensely with over 200 residents, 50 plus buildings, many opportunities for work and is constantly expanding and growing.

Media Fluency Reflection

A. How was the ease of access in building the town, and what software did you use specifically?

Building my town was easier than expected but it took awhile to get the hang of. I used the software ‘Roll For Fantasy’ as requested by the ADL teachers, and I enjoyed playing around with the different designs I could do. If I ever needed to do something like this again I would defiantly use this website because of the simple layout and how easy it was to navigate.

B. Were you able to apply the skills you learned in the planning stages appropriately to a digital environment?

Before actually creating my design I drew it out on a piece of paper to see if I liked the look of it or not. I tried my best to fit the description of the town into the design for a more realistic understanding. So, yes.

C. What were the sources you researched that made this an “authentic make-believe” town?

I used 2 different sources to try and get as precise as possible. The first source I used was just using google and looking up different pictures and drawings of factory towns. Doing this helped me to get the main idea of what these towns all have in common and then creating one design with the information. The last source I used was reading the book ‘Lyddie’ by Katherine Paterson in my Social Studies 9 class. ‘Lyddie’ is about a very poor young girl that works at a factory during the Industrial Revolution. When I read about the town Lyddie lives in, it is described in my opinion very similar to my design.

D. Is there other software online that could have done the job better? Explain.

There is defiantly other software that could do a better job, however I would still use Roll For Fantasy. Other websites may have a better look to the finished product, but if you just want to be efficient and get it done I would recommend Roll For Fantasy.