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00:00No matter where you are in America, sometimes the road less traveled is the one best traveled.
00:15We teamed up with Smithsonian Magazine to find small towns that stood out.
00:21We found historic sites on the Mississippi and modern art in West Texas, monuments on
00:30the Oregon coast, and battlegrounds in West Virginia.
00:37They are places that have bred heroes, inspired artists, and thrilled explorers.
00:45These are America's Best Small Towns.
01:21Our journey begins in dusty West Texas, in a place Smithsonian Magazine calls a flyspeck.
01:35Out of the desert emerges Marfa, a small town that's causing a sensation.
01:43In 1971, a famous American artist named Donald Judd arrived with his family in a truck full
01:50of his work.
01:55After years in New York, Judd craved clean, open spaces to display his art.
02:02He settled in his former Army office building.
02:07Next door, Judd created some of his first large pieces, like these 15 untitled works
02:14in concrete.
02:23He eventually installed them on the grounds of a former Army base, where he started a
02:27contemporary art museum.
02:32The 15-building complex, called the Cianatti Foundation, now features a world-class collection,
02:38including this interpretation of a nail in a horseshoe.
02:46This old artillery shed contains some of Judd's best-known work.
02:52Inside are 100 aluminum boxes, positioned to glisten in the stark Texas sunlight.
03:11Over two decades, Judd bought more than a dozen buildings here, gradually transforming
03:17Marfa into what it is today, one of the best towns in America for the arts.
03:28Small towns have inspired many of the country's greatest artists, including a former riverboat
03:34captain who immortalized small-town life on the mighty Mississippi.
03:41In 1857, Samuel Clemens, later known as Mark Twain, began piloting steamboats past places
03:48like Natchez, Mississippi.
03:52At the time, Natchez was home to some of the richest men in the country.
04:01They made their fortunes off cotton and slaves.
04:07In 1861, the Civil War broke out, halting river traffic and ending the ways of the Old
04:13South.
04:19Two decades later, Twain returned to Natchez and wrote that it was an attractive town and
04:25always had been.
04:33Five hundred antebellum homes still stand here, more than any place else in the U.S.
04:39They include the Melrose Estate, run by the National Park Service, and Dunlith, now an
04:47historic inn.
04:54The route out of Natchez is nearly as scenic as the town itself.
05:00The 444-mile Natchez Trace Parkway was built near the Natchez Trace, a trade route used
05:08by Native Americans and settlers.
05:17The modern road stretches north through Mississippi, not far from one of America's best literary
05:22small towns.
05:27This is Oxford, Mississippi.
05:30On the day of their annual Double Decker Arts Festival.
05:37It's fitting for a place that Smithsonian Magazine says prides itself on being an intellectual
05:42oasis.
05:47Oxford is home to Square Books, one of the country's best-known independent bookstores.
05:54Part of it is devoted to the town's most well-known resident, William Faulkner, who lived south
05:59of the square.
06:03A modern-day writer owes much of his fame to Oxford.
06:06In 1981, a young man named John Grisham earned his law degree from the University of Mississippi
06:13in Oxford.
06:15He later overheard a court case that inspired his first novel, A Time to Kill.
06:24Now the fiction icon spends part of the year in this Victorian house.
06:31The grounds even include a place to play baseball, the author's favorite sport.
06:37Small towns help pave the way for big dreams in Mississippi and Maysville, Kentucky.
06:47In the 1940s, a teenager named Rosemary Clooney gazed at the Ohio River and dreamed of becoming
06:54a star.
06:57She made her singing debut at 13.
07:00By 20, she was famous, appearing with Bing Crosby in White Christmas and singing hit
07:05songs like Mambo Italiano.
07:09In 1982, she opened her Hollywood home to her nephew, George Clooney.
07:15He'd recently left nearby Augusta, Kentucky, to study acting.
07:20In 2008, Clooney chose Maysville's Washington County Opera House for a red-carpet screening
07:26of his movie, Leatherheads.
07:29Outside, Clooney signed autographs, along with co-star Renee Zellweger.
07:42Small river towns have a way of changing history, whether they're in northern Kentucky or the
07:49neighboring state of West Virginia.
07:53Harpers Ferry sits at the juncture of the Shenandoah and Potomac Rivers.
08:03George Washington surveyed this land well before he was president.
08:09Decades later, Thomas Jefferson declared the view, perhaps, one of the most stupendous
08:14scenes in nature.
08:17Today, Harpers Ferry is one of America's most historic small towns.
08:24In 1859, a man named John Brown began a militia-style campaign he hoped would ultimately free the
08:31slaves.
08:35Brown and his 21-man army captured the town's bridges.
08:39Next, they stormed a U.S. armory.
08:43Brown's remains are still visible along the banks of the Shenandoah.
08:49The abolitionists took hostages to this brick building, now called John Brown's Fort.
08:56Marines, led by Colonel Robert E. Lee, stormed the building and ended the campaign.
09:07Brown's raid set off a chain of events that, two years later, brought the first shots of
09:12the Civil War.
09:17That war raged in small towns from Harpers Ferry to Lewisburg, West Virginia, where every
09:24spring re-enactors commemorate the Battle of Lewisburg.
09:32In May of 1862, Confederates launched a surprise attack here on Union forces.
09:44Despite being badly outnumbered, the Northerners won and seized hundreds of weapons, including
09:51a cannon.
09:55The battle gave a much-needed boost to Union morale.
10:02At the time, an ambitious young railroad worker was bringing supplies to Union forces.
10:09His name was Andrew Carnegie, and his legacy lives on in this historic small town at Carnegie
10:16Hall.
10:18After the Steel Baron made his fortune, he turned to philanthropy.
10:22Today, there are four Carnegie Halls.
10:25The others are in New York, Pittsburgh, and Scotland.
10:30This structure was originally part of a local women's college.
10:36It's now an arts and education center.
10:44America's best small towns have helped shape the country, particularly one in North Florida
10:49named St. Augustine.
10:55It's actually America's first small town.
10:58Spanish settlers founded it four decades before Jamestown.
11:03Today, Smithsonian Magazine calls it a lovingly cared-for vestige of the Spanish New World.
11:14One of the best-preserved structures is Castillo de San Marcos, the country's first masonry
11:19fort.
11:27It was built in the late 1600s, over 23 years.
11:32And it was never conquered, thanks to a 40-foot moat and double drawbridge entrance.
11:46St. Augustine is also home to a sprawling Spanish-style building that once catered to
11:50the rich and famous.
11:55Royal tycoon Henry Flagler began building the Hotel Costa Leone in 1885.
12:05He spared no expense.
12:07For the exterior, he chose a Spanish Renaissance revival style.
12:13For the interior, he hired acclaimed artist Louis Comfort Tiffany, son of the man who
12:18founded Tiffany & Company.
12:26The Ponce marked the development of towns further south in Florida.
12:31Among them was one of America's best island towns, Key West.
12:39Ernest Hemingway and his second wife, Pauline, arrived here from Cuba in 1928, expecting
12:45to pick up a car.
12:48When it didn't arrive, they stayed for three weeks, in a place Smithsonian Magazine calls
12:53a haven for creativity.
13:00The young writer became fascinated with sport fishing, eventually hauling in 400-pound marlin.
13:12Hemingway later settled in this Spanish colonial home on Whitehead Street.
13:18He had some of his happiest years here, working in the morning and fishing in the afternoon.
13:28In the decade that followed, his distinct writing and masculine image brought him international
13:33fame.
13:39Hemingway later tried to escape that fame 3,000 miles away, in Ketchum, Idaho.
13:48He was one of many celebrities first drawn here by the birth of American skiing.
13:53In 1935, in the midst of the Great Depression, Union Pacific chairman Averill Herrington
14:01was looking for ways to help bolster the U.S. economy.
14:05He thought skiing would bring a much-needed new industry to the western states.
14:11Herrington wanted a place with dry powder, ample sun, and minimal wind.
14:17Most importantly, it had to be on the Union Pacific line.
14:23After an exhaustive search, he chose Ketchum, and hired a PR whiz who named it Sun Valley.
14:33A year later, Herrington opened the million-dollar Sun Valley Lodge.
14:38One of its early guests was Hemingway, who stayed in room 206 and aimed his shotgun at
14:49geese from the balcony.
14:51In the years that followed, Hemingway kept coming back to Ketchum.
14:57He gambled at a wild casino called the Sawtooth Club, which still stands on North Main Street.
15:06In quieter moments, he went to Silver Creek to hunt, or to fly fish with his son Jack.
15:17Tragically, in 1961, Hemingway took his own life in the foyer of a Sun Valley house.
15:25He's buried in a simple grave in the Ketchum Cemetery beneath three spruce trees.
15:33The American West is a land full of triumph and tragedy, and one businessman managed to
15:39capitalize on that in the 1890s.
15:42His name was William F. Cody, better known as Buffalo Bill.
15:48In 1896, he strategically founded the town of Cody, Wyoming, close to the country's first
15:54national park, Yellowstone.
15:59He predicted the park would attract a lot of visitors who'd need a place to stay.
16:06By then, Buffalo Bill was famous for his traveling show about the travails of the Old West.
16:12Cody has become one of the best gateway towns to Yellowstone, which stretches across northwest
16:19Wyoming into Montana and Idaho.
16:29Today the park welcomes more visitors annually than even William Cody could have predicted.
16:44Three million people come through each year to see hydrothermal displays like Clepsydra
16:48geyser, or to marvel at the natural formations such as the Grand Prismatic Spring.
17:02It gets its unusual coloring from different kinds of bacteria and how it reacts to sunlight.
17:13One of America's best gateway towns sits on the southern side of Yellowstone.
17:20Jackson, Wyoming is in the valley of Jackson Hole, 60 miles south of the park.
17:31The town revolves around a unique square where elkhorn gates have stood since 1960.
17:39They were constructed from antlers shed by bulls at the nearby National Elk Refuge.
17:53The square is also home to the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar, the first Wyoming bar to get a
17:59liquor license after Prohibition.
18:02Now this attractive small town has fewer cowboys and a lot more CEOs.
18:10North of Jackson, up the winding Snake River, is a stretch of land known as Billionaire's
18:15Row.
18:17Walmart heiress Christy Walton once owned a compound here, where homes have sold for
18:22up to $175 million.
18:27Some have direct access to the Jackson Hole Ski Resort.
18:35Its ski runs have a reputation for being some of the toughest in the country.
18:41One vertical drop apparently daunted even former astronaut John Glenn.
18:49In the off-season, an aerial tram whisks people to the top for views of Grand Teton National
18:55Park.
18:58Jackson serves as a hub for the park, which is home to some of the last untouched wilderness
19:03in America.
19:10It exists thanks in large part to John D. Rockefeller.
19:15He bought up 35,000 acres here in the 1930s and later donated it to the federal government.
19:25According to local legend, Rockefeller hiked these hills and envisioned a place where people
19:30could soak in the view.
19:42In 1955, Rockefeller's Jackson Lake Lodge opened its doors.
19:49The lobby's 60-foot windows overlook an area called Willow Flats, and beyond them, the
19:5612,000-foot Mount Moran.
20:08Small towns opened up this midsection of the Rockies, whether they were in Wyoming
20:14or farther south in the range, in Colorado.
20:18The small town of Telluride began as a mining camp.
20:21Today, it's one of the best places to experience Colorado indoors and out.
20:29Every summer, Telluride hosts its famous film festival, where Juno and Slumdog Millionaire
20:34premiered.
20:38A local landmark is the new Sheridan Hotel, which catered to the influx of miners in the
20:43late 1800s, and today welcomes outdoor enthusiasts.
20:50Some head to a popular hiking spot a few miles outside town at Bridal Veil Falls.
20:57At 365 feet, it's the tallest free-falling waterfall in the state.
21:06These mountains are also home to the Durango and Silverton Railroad, located a few hours
21:11south of Telluride.
21:18The historic train runs from Silverton to Durango through the Cascade Canyon.
21:30It's been rumbling past rocky crags here since the late 1800s, when it was used by miners
21:35to haul gold and silver ore from the mountains.
21:43Precious metals drew miners to another Colorado town, later known for its glitzy celebrities.
21:52When prospectors first came to Aspen, they called it Ute City.
21:58A year later, the name was changed for the forests of Aspen trees that grow here.
22:04It's now one of the best ski towns in America, thanks to the installation of a single-seat
22:08chairlift in 1946.
22:11Now, high-speed lifts and gondolas carry people up, and some of them paraglide back down.
22:27This small town has long given stars a respite from big-city living.
22:32Actor Kevin Costner settled on this ranch after he spent decades searching for the perfect
22:37Western getaway.
22:40He now owns 165 acres outside Aspen, where he says he has the best view in the world.
22:50America's best small towns help people get away from it all, in the mountains of Colorado
22:56and amid the red rocks of Arizona.
22:59This is Sedona, in the heart of the vast Cocomino National Forest.
23:05These 1,200-foot spires make up Cathedral Rock, which some believe contains mystical
23:11powers.
23:13Legend has it that the central pillars are two lovers, frozen in time for failing to
23:19appreciate each other.
23:22It's one of the many sights that's helped put Sedona at the center of the New Age movement.
23:34Smithsonian Magazine says one of the town's most distinctive features is the sheer-walled
23:39chapel of the Holy Cross.
23:45It was the vision of sculptor Marguerite Brunswick Stoudy.
23:50For years, she wanted to create a church shaped like a cross.
23:57She finally found the perfect spot flying over Sedona.
24:02The building was completed in 1956 and immediately heralded as an architectural masterpiece.
24:09America's best small towns have helped people build big things, in Arizona and in the neighboring
24:16state of New Mexico.
24:19Out of the desert emerges the small town of Las Vegas, not to be confused with the other
24:24Vegas in Nevada.
24:32In the late 1800s, the railroad arrived and brought with it an Englishman named Fred Harvey.
24:40He soon built the Grand La Castaneda Hotel.
24:45It was the crown jewel of his Harvey House Hotels, a successful chain he started to help
24:49civilize the Wild West.
24:52It sits in one of nine historic districts where Billy the Kid and Doc Holliday caroused
24:57in the early 1880s.
25:00You can still find rebels riding through the New Mexico desert, particularly in one of
25:06America's most unique small towns.
25:10This is Española, population 10,000.
25:15Over the years, it's built up a reputation of having some of the most souped-up cars
25:20in the state.
25:21Here, Mexican-Americans celebrate their cultural heritage with lowriders, customized cars that
25:29seem dangerously close to scraping the ground.
25:35Locals say the tradition stems from a ritual called paseo, when Mexican horsemen would
25:40decorate their saddles and ride around town.
25:45Generations of families work together to transform classic cars into works of art.
25:54In the summer, the cars are the centerpiece of a week-long celebration that commemorates
25:59the town's founding.
26:09Something about small New Mexico towns inspires artists.
26:13Whether they express themselves on a car or a canvas, Taos, New Mexico, is home to
26:20the San Francisco de Asis Mission Church, a favorite subject of famed American painter
26:26Georgia O'Keeffe.
26:28The artist, famous for her southwestern scenes and flowers, discovered Taos in her 40s.
26:39For 17 years, O'Keeffe came to Taos every summer, painting scenes in town and outside it.
26:55She stayed on a privately-owned piece of land called Ghost Ranch, 60 miles southwest of Taos.
27:03It's now a 21,000-acre education center, and home to one of O'Keeffe's most cherished
27:09spots, Kitchen Mesa.
27:16She loved the red and yellow cliffs of the 100-foot-tall rock formation and painted them
27:21many times.
27:27She also adored Peternal, with its signature flattened mesa.
27:32When O'Keeffe died in 1986, at the age of 98, her ashes were scattered at the top.
27:40Smithsonian Magazine says today, Taos still speaks to artists who come for the flash of
27:46a passing spirit and the quality of the light.
27:55Small towns have changed lives in the southwest and across the country.
28:02In the lush foothills of New England, home to Montpelier, Vermont.
28:08It's the nation's smallest state capital, but it's helped change the course of history.
28:14Vermont was the first state to abolish slavery and the first to allow civil unions for gay
28:19couples.
28:22At the top of the Capitol Dome is Ceres, the goddess of agriculture.
28:29She stands above this historic town, where residents brag there is no McDonald's.
28:34Instead, the people here opt for slow food.
28:39Grown in this fertile valley and sold at picturesque farmers' markets throughout the year, New
28:47England towns are known for forging new paths, both in Vermont and the neighboring state
28:52of Massachusetts.
28:55In 1620, the Pilgrims arrived at Cape Cod, and the first place they landed was Provincetown.
29:05In 1910, the Pilgrim Monument was dedicated in their honor, even though they ultimately
29:10settled across the bay in Plymouth.
29:14The granite structure overlooks what Smithsonian Magazine describes as a splendidly intact
29:1919th century village.
29:23P-Town later became known for its theater scene.
29:26Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, and Barbra Streisand all performed here as young actors.
29:34Surrounding Provincetown is Cape Cod National Seashore, 40 miles of pristine beaches that
29:40looked much as they did when the Pilgrims sailed past.
29:46America's first small towns were in the east, but the development of western states began
29:51someplace surprising, in Marietta, Ohio.
29:55It's one of the best small towns in America to learn about the Revolutionary War.
30:01In 1788, a freedom fighter named Rufus Putnam arrived at the juncture of the Ohio and Muskingum
30:08Rivers.
30:11He was among 48 veterans who ended up founding the first chartered city in the Northwest
30:16Territory.
30:19Many of those men are buried in Mound Cemetery, which is believed to hold more Revolutionary
30:24War officers than any place else in the country.
30:28It's centered around a Native American archaeological site, brought to attention by the Smithsonian
30:34Institution.
30:37This river town is also home to dozens of historic buildings that show how early pioneers
30:42lived when the nation was first forming.
30:48America's best small towns helped shape the country in the 18th century and the 20th.
30:55This is Wapakoneta, Ohio, the childhood home of Neil Armstrong.
31:05His family moved into this modest house when Armstrong was 14.
31:12In high school, the future astronaut worked at a local drugstore, earning 40 cents an
31:16hour.
31:17He used the money for flying lessons.
31:23In July 1969, Armstrong became the first man to walk on the moon.
31:33Space enthusiasts can get their fill of moon memorabilia at Wapakoneta's Armstrong Air
31:38and Space Museum.
31:42It features aircraft, a moon rock, and a Gemini capsule, which astronauts use to train for
31:47the famous Apollo missions.
31:54Small Midwestern towns have bred some of America's most beloved heroes, including a man known
32:01as Ike.
32:04This statue of President Dwight D. Eisenhower stands on the campus of his Presidential Library
32:10and Museum in Abilene, Kansas.
32:14Ike was raised in this white frame house, where Smithsonian Magazine says, the seeds
32:19of the 1950s American dream were planted.
32:23The home is now part of the museum grounds.
32:27Eisenhower grew up poor in this Midwestern town and couldn't afford to go to college.
32:34Two years after high school, he won an appointment to West Point.
32:42Abilene's sprawling Presidential Museum highlights his rise from second lieutenant to four-star
32:47general and ultimately, commander-in-chief.
32:53In 1969, Eisenhower was laid to rest on museum grounds in this small chapel.
33:02He lies alongside his wife, Mamie, and their first son, Doug, who died at the age of four
33:07from scarlet fever.
33:12Throughout his life, Ike found comfort in a small Midwestern town, as did another man
33:19destined to become president.
33:21In 1883, a young Teddy Roosevelt got the urge to head west to North Dakota.
33:34Just 23 at the time, he boarded a train for the Badlands.
33:40He wanted to hunt buffalo before they disappeared.
33:48He was so taken with North Dakota, he had a cabin built on the banks of the Little Missouri River.
33:54Five months later, it became his refuge after he lost his mother to typhoid fever and his
34:00wife to kidney disease.
34:03They both died on Valentine's Day, 1884.
34:11The cabin now sits in the tiny town of Medora, which is at the center of the Teddy Roosevelt
34:17National Park.
34:21Medora serves as a hub for the thousands of visitors who want to walk in Roosevelt's footsteps
34:26and see this unspoiled landscape.
34:36Just outside town, Teddy's legacy lives on at the Burning Hills Amphitheater.
34:43It was built on the 100th anniversary of Roosevelt's birthday in 1958.
34:49Back then, Medora was in danger of becoming a ghost town.
34:55The theater helped revitalize it.
34:58Generations of local residents now work together to put on these high-energy Americana shows.
35:05This performance is about Roosevelt's days as a rancher, when Medora was still a rough
35:10and tumble town.
35:15The West was won in small towns, both in North Dakota and South Dakota, in places like Deadwood.
35:26It was the setting for the hit HBO series of the same name.
35:31Today, Deadwood is one of the best towns to revisit the Wild West, when this town was
35:38chock-full of gunslingers and gold-seekers.
35:46To impose order, a man named Seth Bullock was appointed Deadwood's first sheriff.
35:53He turned the town around and later built the Bullock Hotel on Main Street, which was
35:59considered one of the premier luxury hotels of the time.
36:09Nearby is Mount Moriah Cemetery, the final resting place of several notorious characters,
36:15such as Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane.
36:24Around the same time Deadwood was booming, a small town in southeast Minnesota was enjoying
36:29its golden age.
36:34Stillwater, on the banks of the St. Croix, was once a famous lumbering town.
36:41In the mid-1800s, logs would jam the peaceful river leading into Stillwater.
36:48Today, tourists ride steamboats reminiscent of that bygone era.
36:54The Anastasia is one of a handful of boats that still offers cruises up and down the
36:59St. Croix.
37:07Standing high above the river valley is the historic Washington County Courthouse.
37:13Construction was completed in 1870 after Stillwater was chosen as the county seat.
37:22The town grew rapidly as people poured in to take care of government and legal affairs.
37:32By 1900, Stillwater's boom was coming to an end.
37:38The surrounding forests were tapped out and lumber mills along the river began to close.
37:47After World War II, people started coming back to this small town for the rich history
37:52and sweeping views of the St. Croix Valley, where the river is peaceful once again.
38:01One hundred miles northwest of Stillwater is a small town that sparked the imagination
38:06of radio personality Garrison Keillor.
38:12Freeport, Minnesota inspired Keillor's stories about the fictional town of Lake Wobegon.
38:19They're a hallmark of his long-running radio show, A Prairie Home Companion.
38:25Keillor came to Freeport in 1970.
38:28At the time, he was a struggling writer looking for cheap rent.
38:33He lived outside town in a brick farmhouse with his wife and young son.
38:39Keillor was a regular at Charlie's Cafe, where the chili is homemade and the banana cream pie runs big.
38:48He modeled Lake Wobegon's sidetrack tap after the Pioneer Inn.
38:54Here, Keillor often had a beer and listened to the real-life characters,
38:58who ultimately inspired his fictional ones.
39:03These small Minnesota towns have brought success to both writers and entrepreneurs.
39:10This is New Ulm, located in southern Minnesota.
39:15A German immigrant named August Schell helped found the town,
39:21then opened up a brewery on the banks of the Cottonwood River.
39:26Over the years, he built the small company into a booming business.
39:30Today, it's one of the oldest surviving breweries in the country.
39:35Schell arrived in New Ulm with a group of immigrants looking to build a better life.
39:41They managed to preserve their heritage here with statues like this one.
39:46It depicts a German hero named Hermann, who symbolizes liberty and unity.
39:57The Cathedral of the Holy Trinity features German Baroque architecture.
40:06And this town's former post office is now home to the county's historical society.
40:13Small towns have often marked new beginnings in Minnesota and 800 miles away in Frankenmuth, Michigan.
40:25In 1845, 15 settlers from the German kingdom of Bavaria came here to support struggling German pioneers.
40:36Frankenmuth thrived, which led to the formation of three other German colonies in Michigan.
40:43More recently, this small town turned itself into Little Bavaria,
40:48and draws nearly as many visitors each year as Yellowstone.
40:54They flock to the sprawling Bavarian Inn for the town's Christmas extravaganza.
41:02Local restaurants are known for their chicken dinners,
41:05which are so famous, Frankenmuth has become the number one consumer of chicken in the world.
41:14America's best small towns offer up unexpected surprises in Michigan and Wisconsin.
41:23This is New Glarus, better known as Little Switzerland.
41:29In 1845, Swiss pioneers built a wooden hut where the Swiss United Church of Christ now stands.
41:38They came here to escape an economic crisis in their own country.
41:42In the decades that followed, more Swiss immigrants arrived.
41:47They built chalet-style homes and businesses, and preserved their native food and traditions.
41:54Today, local restaurants serve up Switzerland's signature dish, fondue, but with Wisconsin cheese.
42:06One of the more recent additions to Little Switzerland is the New Glarus Brewing Company, located south of town.
42:13It's the first brewery in the country to be founded by a woman.
42:18Deborah Carey started the business in 1993, and turned it into a multi-million dollar company.
42:26Today, local musicians are playing an instrument called an alpenhorn,
42:31which Swiss farmers use to communicate across alpine valleys.
42:40Deborah Carey's small business success impressed even the White House.
42:46Deb Carey met with President Barack Obama on small business issues in 2012.
42:54America's best small towns can steal the political spotlight in the Midwest,
42:58and more than 2,000 miles away on the California coast.
43:04This is Carmel-by-the-Sea, which made headlines in 1986 when actor Clint Eastwood was elected mayor.
43:15The native Californian has long called this small town home.
43:20As mayor, Eastwood helped preserve the natural beauty here.
43:24This coastline is home to some of the richest marine life in the state.
43:32South of town is the Carmelite Monastery, where Catholic nuns devote themselves to a life of prayer and meditation.
43:41Visitors can come to this scenic spot.
43:43Public mass is held six days a week.
43:57A few hours up the Pacific coast is a small town once known for sex, drugs, and rock and roll.
44:04During World War II, Sausalito, California, just north of San Francisco, was a hub for shipbuilding.
44:13When the war ended, the shipyards were abandoned and artists moved in.
44:19Using scavenged parts, they began to build a houseboat community.
44:25Smithsonian Magazine says Sausalito got its true cultural stamp in the 60s with the arrival of hippie refugees.
44:38Many artists still live on these waters, though the houseboats have gone significantly more upscale.
44:51Small port towns like Sausalito brought big changes to America in the 60s and more than a century earlier in a town nestled in Oregon's northwest corner.
45:03Astoria sits at the mouth of the Columbia River, where massive vessels enter from the Pacific.
45:11One of the best-known local landmarks is the Astoria Column, which stands at the town's highest point.
45:21Citizens raised more than a million dollars to restore it.
45:29The artwork shows interactions between European settlers and Native Americans, as well as the arrival of Lewis and Clark.
45:40They arrived here in the winter of 1805, at the end of a long journey exploring the uncharted west.
45:56The waters around Astoria are known for being treacherous.
46:01Peter Iredale ran aground on this coastline in 1906 when she couldn't escape strong winds and currents near the Columbia River entrance.
46:13Her rusting remains were featured in the 2009 film, The Road.
46:23America's best small towns have great stories to tell, whether they're in Oregon or Washington State.
46:34In the 1990s, Roslyn became a main filming location for the hit show, Northern Exposure.
46:43The series was about a New York doctor sent to practice in a remote Alaskan village.
46:50The show's producers thought Roslyn's scenic location made it the perfect stand-in for a small Alaska town.
46:59The Roslyn Cafe was even featured in the opening credits.
47:06But this town has a rich history beyond Hollywood.
47:11Native Americans inhabited this land until 1886, when white men discovered coal here.
47:18Immigrants worked and died in Roslyn's mines.
47:22Many are buried in the sprawling Roslyn Cemetery.
47:26It's made up of 26 separate cemeteries belonging to different ethnic groups.
47:35The diversity in small towns has led to both cooperation and conflict.
47:44This is Sitka in southern Alaska.
47:55In the late 1700s, a Russian named Alexander Baranov was so impressed by the natural resources here, he started a settlement.
48:07But soon, disagreements arose between settlers and local Native Americans.
48:14This small town was a battleground until 1804, when Baranov attacked, at what's now the Sitka National Historical Park.
48:25It was the last major fight between the Europeans and the Native Americans on the Pacific coast.
48:33Today, Smithsonian Magazine says, no other town in the 49th state has Sitka's charisma.
48:43St. Michael's Cathedral contains one of the largest collections of Russian icons in the U.S.
49:00Sitka is also home to a remarkable collection of totem poles, donated to the town by Native American leaders throughout Alaska.
49:10Many tell unique stories about the first inhabitants of this rich and rugged land.
49:22Three thousand miles south of Sitka, Native people built their nation from a small town.
49:30In the late 1700s, Hawaii's king chose Lahaina as its capital.
49:37The family ruled here for two decades, as Lahaina was transformed into a whaling town.
49:46Hundreds of sailors came to local bars and dance halls.
49:50Among them was Herman Melville, author of Moby Dick.
50:01The whaling industry ended in Hawaii in the 1860s.
50:06Now, hundreds of humpback whales migrate to these warm water breeding grounds.
50:18They're just one of the many unexpected things you can find in America's best small towns.
50:25Whether they sit in the sparkling waters of the Pacific, or amid the still water of Minnesota,
50:33these are the places where immigrants started fresh, and businessmen dreamed big.
50:41Small towns have given America's artists room to breathe, and its literary giants space to think.
50:50They are the backbone and the heartbeat of a nation built one town at a time.