Pine Valley was an entirely Protestant town, even though an overwhelming majority of its inhabitants we incredibly poor for a long time.
Because of its highly stratified society, the poor were so likely to die that the town only had a single, incredibly wealthy family surviving within its reach by 1771.
It's very surprising that the Simpsons were its richest inhabitants at that time, but they left Piney when an overwhelming majority of the foreign newcomers invaded that town in 1789.
