What is the importance of Tellicoe Plains, Tennessee in the novel, Where the Heart Is?

Tellicoe Plains, Tennessee, is the hometown of Novalee Nation and Willy Jack.. They have left the town behind on their way to Willy Jack's potential railroad employment in California. From all indications, Tellicoe Plains is an impoverished area, and jobs are scarce, hence the trip to California. At the end of the novel, Novalee brings Willy Jack back to Tellicoe Plains.