New Roads Then and Now
Other aspects of New Roads have evolved as economic forces shifted the town from an agricultural hub to more service-oriented businesses. The buildings along Main Street evidence that change. Some underwent renovation while others have been demolished. Instead of an Auto-Lec general store, downtown New Roads now boasts antique malls and clothing boutiques. Despite economic changes, the demographic structure of the town remains largely as it was in the 1930s and 1940s. The railroad tracks that bisect New Roads mark a physical color line, with the African Americans residing north while whites mostly live south, closer to False River. Gaines represents such geographic segregation in his the novel by describing two parts of Bayonne: "back of town" and "front of town."