I see that Smithsonian.com has released a list of the Top 20 Small Cities in America. Here's what they noted as their criteria:

"To help create our list, we asked the geographic information systems company Esri to search its data bases for high concentrations of museums, historic sites, botanic gardens, resident orchestras, art galleries and other cultural assets common to big cities. But we focused on towns with populations less than 25,000, so travelers could experience what might be called enlightened good times in an unhurried, charming setting. We also tried to select towns ranging across the lower 48."

Now here's the list:

1.      Great Barrington, MA

2.      Taos, NM

3.      Red Bank, NJ

4.      Mill Valley, CA

5.      Gig Harbor, WA

6.      Durango, CO

7.      Butler, PA

8.      Marfa, TX

9.      Naples, FL

10.  Staunton, VA

11.  Brattleboro, VT

12.  Princeton, NJ

13.  Brunswick, ME

14.  Siloam Springs, AR

15.  Menomonie, WI

16.  Key West, FL

17.  Laguna Beach, CA

18.  Ashland, OR

19.  Beckley City, WV

20.  Oxford, MS

Notice any particular town missing from that list?

Let's see, they looked at museums, historic sites, art galleries, cultural assets, and population under 25,000. Sound like someplace you know?

Not only is Hannibal not on the list, but there's only one town listed in the entire midwest. One saving grace is that the Prospect League is represented (Butler & Beckley City).

I'm sure all these towns are perfectly lovely, but when it's all said and done, this is a pretty good part of the world to be from.

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