I found out from Chef's wife what ails Silver City, and it is this: The town should really be called Copper City. Its main industry is open cast copper mining. When the value of copper goes up- happy times in town, but when it goes down- oh boy!
The derelict factory in the center of town that had every single window smashed in was part of the mining company. The people had raged against the machine that had brought them prosperity and then took it away so abruptly.