Westminster and Museum Help Fulton Rank Nationally as a “Coolest Small Town”  

Budget Travel magazine urges travelers to seek out the hidden treasures of Fulton, MO.

The long list of history-making moments and world leader visits to Westminster College and the impressive landmark, America’s National Churchill Museum, were the major factors that landed the city of Fulton on the 2019 list of “10 Coolest Small Towns in America.” 

Cities are evaluated and selected for the list annually by Budget Travel, which just released its 2019 list. 

Associate Editor of Budget Travel Maya Stanton begins her homage to Fulton by saying the small, private liberal arts college “in central Missouri seems an odd location for landmark, history-making moments, but Fulton’s Westminster College has seen more than its share of elite action.” 

Her article cites the impressive list of former presidents and prime ministers who have spoken on campus and singles out Sir Winston Churchill’s “Sinews of Peace” or “Iron Curtain” speech and Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev’s lecture announcing the end of the Cold War as two of the extraordinary events Westminster has hosted. 

She discusses the magnificent restoration of the 17th-century Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Aldermanbury, on campus and the riches to be found by visitors who view the state-of-the-art exhibits of America’s National Churchill Museum, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary. 

Stanton also lauded the campus’s standout sculpture Breakthrough, which was created by internationally acclaimed artist Edwina Sandys from eight panels of the Berlin Wall, a symbol of the Cold War with the Soviet Union. Sandys is the granddaughter of Clementine and Winston Churchill. 

“Bold. Visionary. Prescient. These are all words used to describe Winston Churchill’s ‘Iron Curtain’ speech at Westminster College,” said Timothy Riley, Sandra L. and Monroe E. Trout Director and Chief Curator of America’s National Churchill Museum. “It looks like we can now add ‘cool’ to the lexicon. Those of us who live and work here and see it day-in, day-out — and those who in record number visit the Museum  — know our community is a gem.” 

Some of the other Fulton attractions mentioned in the article include the downtown Brick District, Sault’s Drug Store soda fountain, the homes of famed Missouri architect Morris Frederick Bell, and the Morels & Microbrews Festival. 

The nine other cities that made Budget Travel’s list of “coolest small towns” include Provincetown, MA; Pacific Grove, CA; Park City, UT; Saranac Lake, NY; Milledgeville, GA; Bastrop, TX; Lanesboro, MN; Seward, AK; and Bath, ME. 

To read the entire article, go to https://www.budgettravel.com. 

The mission of Budget Travel magazine is to inform, interact, inspire, and empower their readers and viewers to optimize their travel experience. For more than 10 years, Budget Travel has shown travelers “how to see more for less” through their magazine, website, e-newsletters, destination videos, television partnerships and social media platforms.