100 Best Small Towns In America: 1 IL Town Makes List

ILLINOIS — One mall town in Illinois was named among the best in the country, according to a new report.

The travel media company Far and Wide recently ranked the 100 best towns with fewer than 10,000 residents.

The list includes well-known towns across the country — including Harpers Ferry in West Virginia, Rehoboth Beach in Delaware, and Cooperstown in New York — and as well as lesser-known gems such as Monowi, Nebraska. Monowi, with a population of one, has ranked as the No. 1 small town in America.

Only one Illinois town made the list: Galena, population 3,282. It came in at No. 55 on the list.

Located in northwest Illinois and once a mining town responsible for producing 85 percent of the country's lead, Galena is now a tourist draw that entices history buffs "to admire the town’s beautiful architecture and romantic views of the Mississippi River." It's home to art galleries, breweries and wineries and skiing in the winter, not to mention the Great Galena Balloon Race in the summer. You can also still visit the home the town's residents gifted to President Ulysses S. Grant.

The Midwest and South regions were home to several of the best small towns in America, according to the report. Towns in Nebraska, Wisconsin, North Dakota, Missouri, Alabama, West Virginia, South Dakota, and Kentucky all cracked the top 10.

Nearby Wisconsin had three towns on the list, including the No. 3 ranked town.

1. Monowi, Nebraska
2. Mooresville, Alabama
3. Stockholm, Wisconsin
4. Medora, North Dakota
5. Watch Hill, Rhode Island
6. Rocheport, Missouri
7. Harpers Ferry, West Virginia
8. Keystone, South Dakota
9. Trinidad, California
10. Grand Rivers, Kentucky