As a non-American, I’m very confused by this. If it’s a town, it’s not rural by definition. Because, you-know, it’s urban.
Also, could we get a definition of town vs small town. Do you not have the concept of a village? (Village in the UK would be a settlement with a population of a couple of thousand, with usually a pub, local shop, maybe a post office and primary school if you’re lucky).
Centralia is small because the mine fire has been burning since the 50s or so. It’s basically condemned.
Yes, it’s an example of the “everyone fled” variety. Well, almost everyone.