Irvington
A town of ghosts
Irvington is a neighborhood in central Portland with a rich history and a sad story.
It was first settled in 2127 when a small group of Scavs were exiled from Lloyd Center following the 56 Massacre, an event named for the Vault 56 dwellers who helped perpetrate it. The few survivors of the event fled north into the ruins of Portland with no food, no supplies, and many wounded. Their issues were compounded by a particularly disastrous winter season that came soon after. But the Scavs are nothing if not a hardy people, and by the skin of their teeth a tiny settlement was founded in a ruined cul-de-sac. Over time it would grow into a small town as other Scav families began to congregate.
In 2138 an earthquake struck the northwestern seaboard of the United States, and its effects upon Portland were severe. Irvington was one of many settlements heavily damaged by the event, and for the second time its residents were nearly wiped out. Salvation for them came in the form of the Samaritans, who had begun sending out missionary convoys to aid those affected by the disaster; a practice that continues to this day. With their aid Irvington was able to get back on its feet, and many of its residents joined up with the Samaritans to show their gratitude and pass on the kindness they had been shown.
Irvington continued to grow, in time becoming a thriving settlement thanks to its advantageous position in the center of Portland between two major trading hubs; those being Moda Garden and Lloyd Center. The latter was not a place that the Scavs tended to go often, but Moda Garden became a popular meeting place for caravans and travelers. Eventually it too would grow in size and importance, becoming a place of neutral ground where all manner of groups could come and be civil with one another. Irvington became one of many settlements whose representatives found a place among the famous debate tables, and when the Coalition of Cascadia Reborn began to take shape it was one of their own who would be elected its first president; one William "Stimpak Willy" Landon.
In 2195 however the upswing of good luck that Irvington had seen came to a sudden halt when Moda Garden was destroyed by an unknown saboteur. Most of the town's most prominent figures were killed in the event, and without their leadership Irvington fell into a state of shocked decline. Over the next few years most of the population would leave the town, and a rumor of a curse began to circulate among those few who remained.
Today Irvington is a ghost town. Very few people still live there and most of them only do so because they have nowhere else to go. Its reputation as a troubled, cursed town keeps most away from the prospect of re-settling, so many believe it's only a matter of time before the town dies for good.
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