When Kagan Coughlin and Alexe van Beuren first visited Water Valley, Mississippi a decade ago, the majority of the storefronts on the small town’s Main Street were empty. But the couple was charmed by the people they met; inside an old soda fountain, a fourth-generation business owner made them a milkshake, chatted for half an hour, and hugged them when they left. They decided to move to town.
They became part of a small group of people who have helped rebuild Main Street. A former machine shop is now a brewery. A drugstore is an art gallery. A service station became a restaurant.
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