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Smithsonian names 20 Best Small Towns to Visit

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Wood-fronted museum building in Freedom, Oklahoma.

Small towns have museums, art, and culture. We just don’t tell anyone about it. Photo by Becky McCray. 

Small town tourism can take inspiration from the Smithsonian Institution’s list of best small towns to visit in the U.S.

Their first list in 2012 was limited to towns under 25,000 in population. For 2013, they’ve changed the target to towns under 15,000 and put the focus on visiting rather than just giving a ranking.

The list was pulled together by ESRI, the geo-data company, and ranked small towns “that have exceptional concentrations of museums, art galleries, orchestras, theaters, historic sites and other cultural blessings.”

Any state or region can borrow the idea to create their own “best of culture” list or to set up a cultural tour.

(Hey, Dennis Deery, your town Menomonie, WI, made the 2012 list!)

About Becky McCray

Becky started Small Biz Survival in 2006 to share rural business and community building stories and ideas with other small town business people. She and her husband have a small cattle ranch and are lifelong entrepreneurs. Becky is an international speaker on small business and rural topics.

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