As the Post put it, political infighting, accusations of fraud, a physical fight at a governing board meeting and a worsening drinking water supply crisis combined to doom Hartman as a standalone town.

Its water tower spent years needing but never getting substantial repairs as the town was gripped with feuding which the Post compared to the 19th-century rivalry waged in the US’s Appalachia region by the Hatfield and McCoy families. The outlet reported the quarreling in Hartman was so intense that it kept at bay any water operators who could step in to assist.