Every state's most charming historic town

[Dariusb]

https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/tri...BnbklE#image=1
Do you agree? Have any other suggestions?

[bilbao58]

I guess I really should go check out Gruene. I’m embarrassed to say I’ve lived only about 30 miles from it for 4 years now and still haven’t been.

[JManc]

I lived in Peterborough, New Hampshire.

[craigs]

Originally Posted by JManc

I lived in Peterborough, New Hampshire.

My aunt, uncle and cousin lived in Jaffrey! Myself, I would pick Portsmouth at NH's most charming historic town.

[KB0679]

Originally Posted by Dariusb

https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/tri...BnbklE#image=1
Do you agree? Have any other suggestions?

I can think of several better candidates for SC than McCllelanville: Beaufort, Georgetown, Cheraw, Newberry, York, Aiken, Abbeville, Camden, etc.

[uaarkson]

Any list that doesn't have Mackinac Island for MI is a fail.

[Steely Dan]

i've never even heard of "Bishop Hill, IL". it might be charming and historic, but it isn't very widely known.

according to wikipedia, it's not even a real town. it's a fly-speck farm village of 128 people out in the anonymous cornfields of west central IL.

and google driving around it, there doesn't appear to be a whole lot of "there" there.



most people in IL would almost certainly name Galena as our state's most charming historic (actual) town.

[xzmattzx]

Milton is nice, but the most charming historic town in Delaware would have to be New Castle or Lewes. Milton is a small step below them.

[Centropolis]

probably ste genevieve, mo. the national park service recently moved into town to help preserve the largest collection of canadien structures in the midwest. i think you have to go to louisiana to find a more intact 18th century french canadian or french colonial settlement.

hermann, mo is kind of like a german galena though and is interesting.

[Centropolis]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

i've never even heard of "Bishop Hill, IL". it might be charming and historic, but it isn't very widely known.

according to wikipedia, it's not even a real town. it's a fly-speck farm village of 128 people out in the anonymous cornfields of west central IL.

and google driving around it, there doesn't appear to be a whole lot of "there" there.



most people in IL would almost certainly name Galena as our state's most charming historic (actual) town.

elsah illinois feels like new england on the mississippi. it kind of sits back in a little dark hollow on the river surrounded by forested cliffs. its a perfect setting for an m night shyamalan movie…

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by Centropolis

elsah illinois feels like new england on the mississippi. it kind of sits back in a little dark hollow on the river surrounded by forested cliffs. its a perfect setting for an m night shyamalan movie…

that one is fairly interesting, but like Bishop Hill, it's a bit on the tiny, "fly-specky" end of the specturm.

when i think of a "town", my mental image is of a place at least a little bit more substantial than that, say 1,000 people at a bare minimum.

but it is cool that the only restaurant in town is literally named "Beer & Burgers". you know exactly what you're getting at a place like that.

[Buckeye Native 001]

Rabbit Hash is practically a suburb of Cincinnati.

I'd argue for Maysville, but what do I know? They got Arizona's right.

[Pedestrian]

California has any number of charming gold rush towns but I'll post Mendocino which was an old lumbering town on the coast but is now a weekend destination for San Franciscans and sometimes movie/TV set (and center of the cannabis region known as the "Emerald Triangle"):






https://www.google.com/search?rls=en...xb9-9AniXrntEM


https://www.cosmopolitan.com/politic...al-abuse-rape/

[suburbanite]

Looks like they picked some very small towns for historical significance or some famous person's birthplace. Their definition of small town is probably skewing more towards what we think of as village.

Unless you're a massive Jimmy Carter fan, I'm not sure Plains, Georgia is really worth the trip. This tourist trap looking cluster of buildings appears to be the only commercial strip in the town.



Personally, in terms of overall charm, I think you could do far better in a small university town like Dahlonega, GA.

[Centropolis]

Originally Posted by Pedestrian

California has any number of charming gold rush towns but I'll post Mendocino which was an old lumbering town on the coast but is now a weekend destination for San Franciscans and sometimes movie/TV set (and center of the cannabis region known as the "Emerald Triangle"):






https://www.google.com/search?rls=en...xb9-9AniXrntEM


https://www.cosmopolitan.com/politic...al-abuse-rape/

mendicino is pretty sweet. feels very much like the golden windswept end of the west. mendicino county is my favorite county in california.

[Pedestrian]

Wow! I was surprised to see Micanopy get mentioned. Micanopy is just down the road from Gainesville, home of the U. of Florida and was a nice motorcycle ride when I was an intern and resident at the university's teaching hospital. It was charming, though small, and on the edge of a picturesque swamp.

When it comes to Carmel, CA, it may once have been charming but it's been totally taken over by the monied classes and turned into an upscale Disneyland for the rich.

[austlar1]

Originally Posted by bilbao58

I guess I really should go check out Gruene. I’m embarrassed to say I’ve lived only about 30 miles from it for 4 years now and still haven’t been.

Gruene is actually in the city limits of New Braunfels. It's a bit of Texas cute with loads of nearby subdivisions touting "Hill Country Living". The subdivisions are filled with lots of those white stone McMansions.

[PhillyRising]

Originally Posted by xzmattzx

Milton is nice, but the most charming historic town in Delaware would have to be New Castle or Lewes. Milton is a small step below them.

I'd pick Lewes since it is the first town established in Delaware..that's fairly historic.

Jim Thorpe for PA? Ok. I'd pick New Hope.

[suburbanite]

Depending on what the definition of small town is, and even though it's cliche, Gettysburg is still one of my favourite places in Pennsylvania and the U.S. overall.

You don't even have to be a history nerd. Walking down the dimly lit streets at night when things are quiet feels like stepping into a time machine. I love how large the old core is relative to the overall size of the town. A lot of places can have that one central commercial strip which is great, but then you move one street over on either side and it quickly falls apart with large surface parking, urban gaps, sprawliness, etc. First time I was in Gettysburg I was amazed how I could keep turning different corners and still find densely packed streets that I wanted to walk down. Hard to find another place with a population of 8,000 that can match this.

[Omaharocks]

Originally Posted by suburbanite

Looks like they picked some very small towns for historical significance or some famous person's birthplace. Their definition of small town is probably skewing more towards what we think of as village.

Unless you're a massive Jimmy Carter fan, I'm not sure Plains, Georgia is really worth the trip. This tourist trap looking cluster of buildings appears to be the only commercial strip in the town.



Personally, in terms of overall charm, I think you could do far better in a small university town like Dahlonega, GA.

Yeah, GA actually has quite a few good ones to choose from, but I don't think any GA locals would put Plains on the list. Some much better choices in Georgia would be Madison, Darien, Helen, Thomasville...

The choice for Arizona (Bisbee) is spot on, and the choice for New Mexico is pretty good, though a bit standard (Taos). I've never heard of the choice for Nebraska, which is my home state. I think all the locals would probably vote for Nebraska City, but frankly NE just doesn't do well at small towns.