Croppschire (crop-sher)

The main agricultural town for the province of Wessil is the town of Croppschire, located north of the capital. It sits in a very fertile area of the southern plains, between the Wessil Hills and the Wessil River. More appropriately, Croppschire is the central town and market center of the agricultural district, which stretches west to the Backbone Spires and eastward almost to Hillsborough Camp.
The town of Croppschire has existed for most of the Second Age, once people realized the area was fertile and prosperous. Its importance dramatically increased in the fourth century, after the nation of Brandis captured the crossroads town of Crowsbane and cut off the trade access between Wessil and the rest of the eastern Ayndrinor.

Demographics

Croppschire and the area around it are predominately human and halfling, though peoples of various backgrounds and origins are also present. While agriculture is the main industry in the region, the town proper has a variety of other trades and industries. The majority of people are relatively lower class, though a few wealthier families exist. These aristocrats own vast estates where vineyards are maintained, powerful mercantile businesses shipping goods across the land, and well-known taverns in town where locals and travelers alike can mingle and spend their coin.
Because the area is vast and all local roads lead to Croppschire, there are also a variety of unexpected trades whose workers make their home (at least part-time) in the town. Miners from the mountains will float their ores and gems down on riverboats, bound for Crabbe-by-the-Sea. The port/dock near Croppschire is about a day's journey from the mountains and makes for a good stopover point on the way to the larger city.

Government

Croppschire is run by a mayor, who comes from the aristocratic families and is appointed by the authorities in Crabbe-by-the-Sea every year. This allows the provincial (formerly national) government to monitor the mayor's policies and have almost instant impact if they do something the authority power does not like. The mayor is assisted by a council of five advisors who come from non-aristocratic families and are nominated by local business leaders and the people before being approved by the Wessilite government. The people still have some say in their leaders, but it is very clear that Croppschire exists solely to benefit Crabbe-by-the-Sea and Wessil.

Defences

Being so deep in the Wessilite territory, Croppschire has never felt the need for a perimeter wall of stone. The central government and administrative buildings are surrounded by one, but the rest of the town and surrounding area are defended primarily by individual awareness and patrolling Watch members. Certain neighborhoods or collections of houses have built smaller palisades around their areas, but it is certainly not the norm in the area. Most threats the town faces come from the hills, where roving gnolls and dangerous beasts make their living, occasionally venturing southward to the populated areas around Croppschire.

Infrastructure

The main trade road through Croppschire proper is well maintained, to allow carts and caravans of all sizes to pass easily. Individual farmers or smaller collectives have paved and kept their connecting roads maintained well, but that is not something the town proper takes any interest in.
Most people and farms throughout the Croppschire town and region get their freshwater and irrigation from wells that access underground aquifers, though some people in the western part of the town have dug small diverting channels from the Wessil River to their land to help irrigate and nourish their crops. Windmills often power grindstones for processing wheat and other grains, and there are even a few watermills set up on the river to assist with the processing of crops.

History

Croppschire was founded in the beginning of the Second Age, when wandering bands of settlers discovered the fertile land in this valley between the hills and the river. Farms began to pop up everywhere, and a central market and town were soon constructed to provide a gathering place for goods and people.
The emergence of Crabbe-by-the-Sea in the latter part of the first century gave Croppschire a close neighbor, and with Crabbe's military might able to conquer and control Croppschire's territory they were soon joined under the banner of a new nation: Wessil. Croppschire has remained Wessilite all throughout history, except a brief time within the past five years, during the Everyn War. Soldiers from the expanding Dumein Dominion captured Croppschire to control the food supply to Crabbe-by-the-Sea on their way to besieging that city as well.
In the wake of the war, Croppschire has been returned to Wessil to administer and monitor, though the Federation takes a higher portion of their crops to other reaches of the nation than previous. Locals are still trying to wrest more control away from Crabbe, but the Wessilite provincial government and the Everyn national government recognize Croppschire's importance to feeding the nation and prefer to keep a closer eye on the town.

Architecture

The vast majority of buildings in the greater Croppschire are built in a frontier or farmhouse style, with expansive grounds to house extended family needed for working large tracts of land. The town proper has much the same architecture, though a few of the larger buildings tend to resemble the American First Period style as well.

Founding Date

11 2A

Type

Town

Population

4,913

Inhabitant Demonym

Croppschirgans

Owning Organization

Wessil