10 Must-Visit Small Towns in Missouri
Missouri is a small state with the largest amenities. You will feel like Jack at the top of the beanstalk when you gaze up at the humungous Community Bookshelf in Kansas City, which Paul Bunyan could have read; the 160-foot-tall Giant Eight Ball tower in Tipton; and the World’s Largest Pair of underwear and pencil in the City Museum in St. Louis.
These are among many colossal attractions beyond the Gateway Arch at St. Louis. But as big as these titanic treasures are, it is the small towns beyond "Gateway to the West" that are truly worth visiting. These top-rated towns may not be as gargantuan as the cities, but they hold enough historical appeal and geographic wonders to leave lasting memories as surely as a castle in the clouds. Venture past the Gateway to the West and give yourself a chance to experience the simple delights of Missouri’s must-visit small towns.
Arrow Rock
Arrows point the way, so what better spot to start than one of the places where the arrows began? Only 68 miles west of Fulton and 20 miles from Boonville, the town of Arrow Rock has been deemed a National Historic Landmark because of its association with Westward Expansion. The flint-bearing, high limestone bluff overlooking the town was first identified on a 1732 French map marked "Pierre a fleche" (in English, "rock of arrows"). Nearly 12,000 years of indigenous cultures manufactured flint tools and weapons from the bluffs. You can learn all about the town’s history following the Emancipation in the Arrow Rock African-American Experience Museum. Furthermore, consider visiting the George Caleb Bingham House, where the famous 19th-century Luminist artist George Bingham lived, and the Dr. John Sappington Museum, similar to the one in St. Louis, which explains how Dr. Sappington’s mass-marketed quinine pills treated malarial fevers nationwide.
If you would rather spend some time in nature, no problem because you can also take the Lewis & Clark Trail of Discovery and explore the Big Muddy US Fish and Wildlife Refuge along the Missouri River. Like weary travelers on a pioneering journey, you can find a suitable place to rest at Arrow Rock Station Bed & Breakfast, Latch House, and Borgman's Bed & Breakfast.
Kimmswick
Along the banks of the Mississippi River, about 23 miles south of St. Louis, the town of Kimmswick represents a splendid riverside journey. One can tour the Anheuser Estate, lovingly known as Fredmar Farms, the ancestral home of Fred and Mabel Ruth Anheuser. Take a look at the El Camino Real Marker, one of the many markers that highlights one of the oldest roads in the region, or visit the nearby Mastodon State Historic Site, where the bones of mighty mastodons were discovered.
Walk along the Windsor Harbor Road Bridge, said to be the oldest known wrought iron bridge in Missouri in the National Register. Attend the Apple Butter Festival and the Strawberry Festival in October and June, respectively, and maybe go on a trip on the Mississippi from Hoppie’s Marina. Either way, you have to stay awhile in The Greenhouse Inn.
Rocheport
Merely two hours away from Kansas City, Rocheport is a town of uncomplicated tranquility. Find simplicity and relaxation through Les Bourgeois Vineyards, where visitors can learn about the process of crafting their selection of dry and sweet wines and then sampling them in luxury. You might also consider taking your delightful drinks beside the Old Railroad Storm Shelter, along the Katy Trail State Park, or while canoeing on the Missouri River. Although not much history or events can be experienced in this quaint town, Rocheport offers peaceful and soothing places to stay, like Amber House Bed and Breakfast, Mount Nebo Inn, and The Bluff House.
Weston
Just a stone’s throw away from the state border of Kansas, Weston has preserved an impressive array of pre-Civil War edifices since its founding in 1837. Among these buildings are O'Malley's 1842 Pub, where you can get a rowdy taste of Irish-American life with fierce refreshments. Or, you can go straight to the source of all the fine lager in the Weston Brewing Company, one of the first lager beer breweries in the US since 1842.
Treat yourself to history lessons in the Weston Historical Museum, where you can learn all about the town’s turbulent ties with the Missouri River, and the National Silk Art Museum, which houses the largest collection of rare silk art tapestries from the 18th and 19th centuries, primarily from France and England. Finally, have fun in Snow Creek for skiing and sledding, or trek through Weston Bend State Park for panoramic views of the Missouri River. You will need a break after all the activities here, so book rooms at Benner House B&B, The St. George Hotel, and The Inn at Weston Landing B&B.
Hermann
Designated by National Geographic as one of America’s best Adventure Towns, Hermann is rife with local activities. The German Settlement Society of Philadelphia first established the town in 1837, situating it about 80 miles west of St. Louis and on the banks of the Missouri River. Visitors can glean the daily life and traditions of these 19th-century German immigrants in the Deutschheim State Historic Site or can be spooked and enthralled in Hermann's History & Haunts, which provides walking tours exploring ghost stories of certain buildings in Hermann.
Because Hermann hails itself as Missouri’s sausage capital, it celebrates a 30-year tradition called Wurst Fest, in which the town welcomes many of Missouri’s leading sausage vendors to promote their banger products. Alongside this meaty fete is Hermann’s own Oktoberfest, reminiscent of the Oktoberfest in Germany from which Hermann’s ancestors originated. When you have had your fill of the best of the wurst, settle down at 1000 Parkview, 1910 Guesthaus, or 2nd Street Lodging B&B.
Marceline
Where would the world be if the whimsical quaintness of Marceline hadn’t inspired Walt Disney? In this laidback and nostalgic town halfway between St. Joseph and Hannibal, the man who defined a generation spent much of his childhood in Marceline. If you want to know more about Mickey Mouse’s maker, head to the Walt Disney Hometown Museum for deeper insights into the man’s childhood.
But if you want to experience what Walt Disney felt about the town, run along like a child embodying young Disney’s imaginative spirit and sprint across Main Street, once Kansas Avenue in Disney’s time, a thoroughfare whose designs match Disneyland’s Main Street USA. Hop towards the Santa Fe Railway and fly like indomitable youths to the Marceline Railroad gallery, where you can learn about Marceline’s history of railroading and coal mining and the Santa Fe Railroad’s influence on the town. Then. journey to the EP Ripley Park, which inspired Walt Disney to name the first steam engine at Disneyland "the EP Ripley." Everyone gets tired occasionally, so get your energy back in Circle O Lodge or Hotel Marceline.
Sainte Genevieve
As Missouri’s oldest permanent European settlement, Sainte Genevieve retains much of its French attitudes. The Jacques Guibourd Historic House, for example, constructed for Jacques Guibourd in 1806, was fashioned in the "poteaux-sur-sole" (post on sill) style. Other French-influenced architecture can be toured in the Bolduc & LeMeilleur Houses, the Jean-Baptiste Vallé House, and the Beauvais-Amoureux House. Visitors can learn more about this town’s involvement in the Revolutionary War and the Louisiana Purchase at the Centre for French Colonial Life.
In this town nestled between St. Louis and Cape Girardeau, get a chance to see the French Heritage Festival, where visitors can witness La Veillee folk dancing at the Felix Valle State Historic Site. Later on, embark on a wildlife trek through Hawn State Park and Ste. Geneviève Levee Wildlife Refuge. Lodgings are not a problem: Inn St. Gemme Beauvais, La Fleur de Lis, Maison Huberdeau Guest House, and others are all at your service.
Van Buren
Many major locations are named after famed leaders, but few small towns are honored these historic names. The town of Van Buren in the Ozarks is a stunning river community named after President Martin Van Buren, who served as the 8th president of the United States. As the doorstep to the Mark Twain National Forest and the Ozark National Scenic Riverways, the town boasts plentiful scenic natural views along the Current River.
In addition to these majestic riverways amidst the rolling Ozark Mountains is the Big Spring, a magnificently blue geologic wonder reputed to be the biggest spring in Missouri and among the biggest in the US, with a daily flow of about 286 million gallons of water. Start cooling down in one of the coolest small towns in the Ozarks by booking rooms in The Rosecliff Lodge or Current River Inn.
Fulton
As the county seat of Callaway County, located 26 miles northeast of Jefferson City and only an hour away from the renowned Lake of the Ozarks, Fulton is a special town to visit. Not merely because of its amenities in the Brick District or natural splendors like the Stinson Creek Trail, but because it was here, specifically at Westminster College, that Sir Winston Churchill delivered his Iron Curtain speech on March 5, 1946, forewarning the threat of the Cold War. In commemoration, Westminster College reconstructed the 12th-century Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Aldermanbury, on its campus grounds, which you can visit at your leisure.
America’s National Churchill Museum details the Prime Minister’s harrowing ventures during England’s "darkest hour," and one can see the Breakthrough sculpture made by Churchill’s daughter, Edwina Sandys, to celebrate the Berlin Wall’s dismantling. You can find grand accommodations at the Loganberry Inn Bed and Breakfast.
Boonville
Boonville is a prime strategic location, and it was not just tourists who recognized the town’s geographic value. Because of Boonville’s railroad and approximation to the Missouri River, and being almost halfway between Kansas City and St. Louis, the Confederate and Union armies fought for the town during the American Civil War. This intersection of the cardinal directions has been the site of two Civil War battles and two occupations.
Visit the Hain House, Memorial Garden, and Kemper Military School, formerly Kemper’s Family School, to glimpse life in the 1800s. Tour Thespian Hall, the longest continually operated theater west of the Alleghany Mountains, which served as a hospital during the Civil War. Then, learn more about Boonville’s strategic influence in the River, Rails & Trails Museum, which showcases the town’s history of transportation. If you feel fatigued, relax at Boonville Luxury Lodging, Hotel Frederick, or Isle of Capri Casino Hotel.
These small towns may not be the stars of the state, but they may just leave the biggest impressions on your journey through Missouri. Get some sunshine and touch the sunny grasses in one of the many heartlands of central US, and find yourself mesmerized by the state from which monumental figures like Mark Twain, Walt Disney, Dick Van Dyke, Eminem, and President Harry S. Truman spent much of their life at. Rich in history, nourished by the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers, and with the Ozark Mountains looming in the southern part of the state, these must-visit small towns each have tokens and takeaways waiting to be treasured.
