I've only ever made European or Japanese towns, but if I'm designing a town from scratch I find 2-3 real life examples and really research them. This isn't just looking at them on the map, this is reading about the history, seeing old photos of how the town changed etc. (And as you're doing a small American settlement, this should be easier as most of them are fairly newish).
This allows you to then plan out how your own town has developed, where old stables, old roads etc. would be. Nearby rivers etc.
I'd make a document somewhere where you write the lore of the town. Whilst you may not have every detail, it may also be good to keep some trivia on some of the former mayors etc. This can help you then if you need to make street names, statues etc.
I'd advise then using the software of Worldpainter to make the geography of it.
The other software I assume you'll have is worldedit. That will allow you to design a stock of buildings you can reuse throughout the town. Find a few buildings on google maps and try and copy their style.
My other tip is that being too boring is itself unrealistic. Humans want to live somewhere atleast mildly interesting, so most towns will have a few landmarks. Obviously for your case, we're not talking about the Eiffel tower or anything, but like, a nearby waterfall or an alleged haunted spot/UFO landing spot.
Best of luck!
