You have decided to go to the library, because, after all, there must be a local history section, right?  Of course!  So that is directly where you head.

To your surprise, when you get there, the history only goes back to 1963.  You ask the librarian why, and she looks over her bifocals at you and explains that Branchville didn't exist before 1963!  You ask about the town before it was called Branchville, but she only repeats that the town has only been here since 1963!

You can see you're not going to get anywhere with this lady, so you dig a bit on your own.  You find no reference to any dates before 1963 in the history section, so you move over to the genealogy section.  But whose genealogy do you look up?  You try Lucy Fire, knowing she is an established person of the community, but the only thing you can find on her, is her name, her husband's date of death, and the fact that they have one daughter, born October 15th, 1968.

Next, you look up Sheriff John Branch Jr.  There's quite a bit on him, but nothing that really helps you.  Until you notice that not only is the date of death for his two brothers in February of 1963, but that those were the only children his parents had at that time.  John Branch Jr. and his twin sister Julie, were born in 1964.

The only other thing you find, before you leave, is when you look through a new Vinesville newspaper (Vinesville is a nearby city).  On the front page is a small article about the recent rash of missing pets.  There is a reference to a similar situation in Branchville in the early 60s. For some reason, this stood out to you.