Scarlett Meadows

Scarlett Meadows is a constituent region in the Lemoyne territory in Red Dead Redemption 2.

Description
Scarlett Meadows' landscape ranges from gentle hills, ponds, and plains in the north and west, to flat swampland in the south and east. Its most notable trait is its red-earth, from which the region draws its name. The region is bordered by the Kamassa River to the east, The Heartlands to the north, Flat Iron Lake to the west, and Lannahechee River to the south. A dried-up riverbed, Dewberry Creek is found within; its main source is the Heartland Overflow near New Hanover. The river will only appear if heavy rainfall occurs. The waterway empties into Flat Iron Lake.

Scarlett Meadows appears to have fallen on hard times following the Civil War. Many of the denizens of the regions hint that the Antebellum period was a prosperous time for the area. The Gray and the Braithwaite families allegedly amassed a fortune from their respective plantation businesses, undoubtedly with the help of slave labor. The town of Rhodes and the now abandoned settlement of Pleasance likely boomed during this era. Following the war, the loss of slave labor clearly hurt the bottom lines of the plantations and caused many of the locals to fall on hard times. The two plantation families have been at each other's throats over their old fortune, which each claims the other stole.

The region features the major town Rhodes with most of its structures owned by the Grays. Much of southern Scarlett Meadows is owned by the Braithwaites who reside in Braithwaite Manor.

Because of the relative openness and flatness of the region, travelers can traverse the land without much difficulty. However, the local bandits, Lemoyne Raiders, are a persistent threat. The plantation families, being highly suspicious of outsiders, also keep a close eye on the land around their properties.

The region's climate is relatively hot, although temperatures rarely exceed 25 degrees Celsius (77℉); the climate makes hot weather clothing optimal. Agriculture, particularly the cotton and tobacco industries, flourish here. While this region is normally quite wet, a recent dry spell has rendered much of the land dusty and bone-dry. The distinctive iron-rich red soil of the area often gets swept up by the wind causing mild dust storms, especially on the hilltop occupied by Rhodes.

Scarlett Meadows most resembles the real-life areas of northern Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama -- sometimes referred to as Dixie. In particular, Scarlett Meadows resembles Sportsman's Paradise and Crossroads regions of Louisiana. The Braithwaite and Gray feud is reminiscent of not only the infamous Hatfield and McCoy rivalry in postwar Kentucky-West Virginia but also more localized disputes such as the Liddell-Jones feud of Louisiana. As Arthur Morgan notes, it also has elements of Shakespeare's classic Romeo and Juliet story.

Trivia

 * Scarlett Meadows is confirmed to be a county of Lemoyne, when referred to the "...hard times affecting Scarlett Meadows County". In real life, although counties are used as a state-level subdivision in all US states (with the exception of Alaska), they are referred to as a "Parish" in Louisiana (although their function is identical to counties in other states).