GREAT DEPRESSION,<span> the longest, deepest, and most pervasive depression in American history, lasted from 1929 to 1939. Its effects were felt in virtually all corners of the world, and it is one of the great economic calamities in history.</span>
With no gold rush, there is no gigantic rush to populate that region. If there aren't enough people then there aren't enough businesses and the economic network is tiny.