Based on Edumund Brunner's three studies of 140 U.S. agricultural villages (1924, 1930, and 1936, 13 of Brunner's New York communities were examined in 1974 to determined in 1974 to determine changes in: (1) population between 1920 and 1970, (2) Dun and Bradstreet business listings between 1921 and 1970 (employment opportunities); (3) community boundaries between 1936 and 1974, (4) school district boundaries; (5) 85 community services and facilities; (6) 15 types of voluntary associations between 1960 and 1974, and (7) industries between 1964 and 1974. Examination was made of the Federal and State programs adopted or sought between 1960 and 1974 and of the factors relative to the differential use of Federal programs. Units of analysis included community, village government, school district, and individual. Data were obtained via personal interviews with key selected informants in each community and were supplemented by information derived from official Federal and State agency records and from interviews with county-level informants. While all centers were classified "rural" in 1920, 10 remained "rural" by census definition in 1974. The data indicated that growth and decline, stability and change, depended on the individual community, the time period, and community characteristics. While stability and growth were prevalent over decline, vitality was greatest in the noneconomic areas and differentiation had increased. (JC)