Bylines and Headlines

I emailed the local paper here in Sheridan in September asking for a chance to publish anything from a short story to a poem. I just got a response from the editor and my article on the Early Days of Sheridan will be published October 19th! It is very exciting and the editor wants me to do more. My byline is By Student Reporter Avila Dauvin and the headline will be something like Early Settlers Overcome Hardships. Apparently every headline in a newspaper has to contain a verb at least once.

Long before the town of Sheridan was named, it already was one of the largest centers of business activity in West Yamhill. Of the two nearest villages, Willamina and McMinnville, Sheridan had the most fertile soil. It was 16 miles from McMinnville and was then considered as beautiful farmland and pure country.
In 1847, Absolem Faulconer and his relatives settled the North and South parts of early Sheridan. It was the beginning of the town. Thomas Faulconer opened up a general store in 1852 on his brother Ab’s claim. Thomas then opened a livery stable and a hotel in Ab’s farmhouse. The Lieutenant Phillip Sheridan was a good friend of the Falconers, often staying at the hotel when not on duty at Fort Yamhill. Ab honored his dear friend by naming the town after him. This was shortly after Philip Sheridan became a general.
The Willamina post office was started up in Sheridan with Thomas Falconer as first postmaster in 1867. The town of Sheridan prospered under the rod of Absolem Faulconer. The soil gave forth plentiful harvests and the lumber business was never better. By 1894 the population was 400 residents. The lumber business failed when the 150 lumber men of the Sheridan Lumber Company went on strike for higher wages. Sheridan then became the first town in Oregon to have a federal prison. This upped the population considerably.
Sheridan survived four major fires. The worst was in September 1913 when half of the small town was destroyed, including the arch over Bridge Street bearing the name of the settlement. But even through it all, the people of Sheridan started to rebuild the town immediately, figuring new ways to fortify the town against disaster.
All in all, Sheridan was always considered a unified settlement. People came together to construct a town based on a shared way of life.

The editor corrected the article using AP style so a little has been changed from this rough draft.
Are there any other substitute words for ‘town?’ My information came from Wikipedia.

Picture of Sheridan Bridge