What Small American Towns Left an Impression On you?

[Wyatt Burp]

We like to travel directions we've never been and check out what might be interesting small towns. They could just be a dot on the map (yes, we still use maps) off the beaten path or out in the wide open spaces somewhere. Here's just a few that left an impression on me.

Jerome, Az. I think it's a copper mine town, maybe silver. It was just a cool old town clinging to the side of the mountain. Gravity dragged the old jail down the hill.

French Camp, Ca. A quaint little town west of Redding with a great old bar and perfectly rustic look.

Atlantic City, Wyoming. An isolated little place up the gravel road from South Pass City. Not touristy, just real life Wyoming off the main roads.

Joshua Tree, Ca. A desert town out in the Mojave. Great people and wide open spaces to clear the head.

Virginia City, Nv. Very touristy but you can smell the history and it just has a fun feeling there.

Genoa, Nv. An old little bend in the road town butted up next to the foot of the Sierras on the east side.

These are all western places I mentioned but you know of such places in your parts of the country. What interesting little towns did you accidently encounter that just struck a cord with you in your travels and meanderings in the good ol' U.S. of A?

 

[DCWilson]

I've been to a couple of those places, and they stuck in my mind too.

I would add Bisbee, AZ; Albert Lea, MN; Fredericksburg, TX, Homer, AK; Chippewa Falls, WI; and Darwin, CA. A couple of places in New England, too, but that was a long time ago and I forget their names.

They aren't all memorable in a good way, but you can feel the history under the current surfaces (touristy, in some cases, and abandoned in others).

 

[JayCeeNC]

Plymouth, Massachusetts.
Flew in to pick up a prisoner once, looked like the quiet, tidy, quaint New England town you see in the movies. Great lobster in a little restaurant at the marina, too!

 

[moonclip]

Lanett, Alabama somewhere around 1970. I wouldn't go back in a plane crash.

......moon

 

[williamlayton]

I remember Jerome in the early 70's---discussion over with.
Blessings

 

[ACP230]

Webaux, Montana. Theodore Roosevelt used to ship cattle from there when he was a rancher in North Dakota.
There's a little museum there. They have a wall studded with irons of old cattle brands from the area. My kids complained the whole time we were there but I liked the place a lot.

Silver Reef, Utah (outside St. George). My folks wintered there for a couple of years 26 years ago. I had lived in Utah as a four-year-old and felt right at home in the little settlement. There was an interesting gun store in St. George and a Mexican restaurant with an old pic of Ronald Reagan posted on the wall near the cash register.

There are a lot of abandoned mining, or farming, settlements in the woods where I live. Some of them are good places to hunt grouse. That always leaves an
impression on me.

 

[Xfuzz]

Mason Texas
Bisbee Az
Galveston Texas
Gunnison Colarado
Ruidoso New Mex

 

[Indiana George]

Tubac, Arizona

Especially during the Tubac Festival of the Arts.

This past Friday began a celebration of Mata Ortiz - my favorite Southwestern pottery.

http://www.tubacaz.com/

 

[Wyatt Burp]

Webaux, Montana. Theodore Roosevelt used to ship cattle from there when he was a rancher in North Dakota.
There's a little museum there. They have a wall studded with irons of old cattle brands from the area. My kids complained the whole time we were there but I liked the place a lot.

Silver Reef, Utah (outside St. George). My folks wintered there for a couple of years 26 years ago. I had lived in Utah as a four-year-old and felt right at home in the little settlement. There was an interesting gun store in St. George and a Mexican restaurant with an old pic of Ronald Reagan posted on the wall near the cash register.

There are a lot of abandoned mining, or farming, settlements in the woods where I live. Some of them are good places to hunt grouse. That always leaves an impression on me.

I stayed overnight with freinds at Grafton Utah. It's an old Mormon ghost town with graveyard marked "killed by indians, 1866", stuff like that. They filmed part of Butch Cassidy there. The barn where Paul neuman rode the bike was there in 1979. A great town. So was St. George. The cops let me and my freind sleep in the jail. We were hitch hiking through with our backpacks and saw a crime. I drew a composit of the guy, they caught him then let us sleep in a cell. Nice folks those cops.

 

[westcoast362]

I'll second Ruidoso New Mexico, and add Ouray Colorado. Ouray has spectacular Rocky Mountain scenery.

 

[Wyatt Burp]

Tubac, Arizona

Especially during the Tubac Festival of the Arts.

This past Friday began a celebration of Mata Ortiz - my favorite Southwestern pottery.

Tubac Chamber of Commerce Official Website

Now, this town is exactly the type a place I'm talking about.

 

[longranger]

Ten Sleep WY
Alturas CA
Ely NV
Two Dot MT
White Sulphur Springs MT

 

[bobcat]

"Webaux, Montana", actually it's Wibaux, pronounced weebow, and it's a real little town on the edge of the North Dakota Badlands. I'm kind of unusual I guess, but I like the wide open prairies, I don't feel so claustrophobic. Most folks in Montana are pretty nice, have fun with your travels...

 

[Smith357]

Avon CO

 

[butchd]

Jerome, Arkansas. In the '40 it had the third largest school district in Arkansas behind Little Rock and Fort Smith. Mostly relocated Japanese. At the end of the war it was reserved for German POWs. Famous for its infamy.

 

[keith44spl]

Lincoln, MT - Mid-90's

Dubois,WY - Got snow'd in there for a few days with a good lookin' blonde one time.

Rock River, WY - Great folks round those parts.

LaRue, TX - Where time stands still, it seems.

Spanish Fort, TX - Just like the place.


Su Amigo,
Dave

 

[rbswede]

To start off with I have not traveled all that much in my life sad but true. When my wife and I decided to get married we went off to where my grandpa ws from Sommerset Ky. at that time it was kinda small did'nt meet a stranger.

The other would be my home town Brookston In. know everyone and everyone know you.

Pic is of Cumberland falls around Sommerset Ky.

Thanks RB

 

[feralmerril]

Thats whats great about this country. I belive I have been in all but 3 or 4 towns you all listed above. Trying to say which is best is impossable. Thats what I like about traveling, I should have been a cross country truck driver but I know you guys cant often stop when you want to.
Back in the early 60s I had a job that took me to many states. The job was of the nature where I only stayed about two months at a time in each area. The biggest thing I learned was you had to really stay at least a month in each area to get a "true feel" for the area. Just driveing through or staying a day or two wont really do it.

 

[feralmerril]

Thinking about it, I remember in 1977 I was flying my citaberia from california to wisconsin. I got forced down by the weather at murdo south dakota. I was grounded for almost 4 days. Somehow I got hooked up with the local crop duster who hooked me up with the county sheriff. I rode around with him for a few days. His name was "Mac" Macdonald or something close to that. Mac still wore a old nickel plated colt 45 SAA. I belive he wore bib overals part of the time and of course a stetson. He drove a old red merc comet with some springs pokeing through the seat and had a old single barrel shotgun. He sure was a intersting character and looked a lot like keith 44. I didnt have a car and old Mac or merrill rust the crop duster would haul me around.
Murdo is off the freeway and normaly you wouldnt go there for any reason but gas or lunch. They did have a old auto muesum that was the best I have ever seen. Remember they had tom mix`s cord there. I have been there about 3 more times on trips since.
It was a interesting place to be grounded. EDIT: I have a picture stored somewhere of mac the sheriff standing by my plane when he drove me back for me to leave. I recall he was wearing his colt single action, so now I am going to make a project of finding that picture and post it. He may well have been one of the last LEO that still packed one. Now I gotta find that picture!

 

[truckemup97]

Man, there are so many I can't think of them all. Great family vacations in Lake City, CO in the 1970s. I spent several days snowed in at Pine Bluffs, WY, and the people were very gracious. Delivering MREs and water after Hurricane Katrina, I went to some places where people were just grabbing for what they could get, but I remember that the people of Osyka, MS were polite, orderly and very grateful for what I brought them. Baker City, OR is a place I'd like to explore some day. It just looks like a neat little town with some history. I met some wonderful people one morning in Sierra Blanca, TX. South Royalton, VT seemed like a great little place, but it may have had something to do with an anonymous citizen buying my supper one night. Cokeville, WY and Lava Hot Springs, ID look like places I'd like to explore one day, as does the Bear Lake area of Utah.

There are lots of great little towns in this country of ours.