Mooresville, Alabama
Bisbee, Arizona
Tucked away in the southeast corner of Arizona, 90 miles south of Tucson, Bisbee was once a booming mining town. The mine didn't close until 1975, but in those 100 years it produced more than 8 billion pounds of copper, more than 3 million ounces of gold and, at the mining camp's peak, more than 50 saloons.
Washington, Arkansas
Washington is built around Historic Washington State Park, which re-creates 19th-century Arkansas life, with its taverns and blacksmith shops, much as Williamsburg, Virginia, does. The town, first incorporated on George Washington's birthday in 1824, served as an early settlement and trading post on the Southwest Trail and, during the Civil War, as the Confederate capital of Arkansas. It's also the birthplace of the famed Bowie Knife.
Columbia, California
One of California's original Gold Rush towns, Columbia was called "Gem of the Southern Mines." Today its history is preserved in the largest collection of Gold Rush-era buildings in the state. The San Jose Mercury News calls it one of the places in California that makes "time travel real."
San Luis, Colorado
San Luis is the oldest town in the state, founded in April 1851 by Hispano farmers. Located near the New Mexico border, it is home to the oldest church in Colorado.
Essex, Connecticut
Time and again awarded honors for being one the best small towns in America, Essex, located along the Connecticut River, was first settled in the 1600s, but not officially incorporated until 1852. The town's beloved Griswold Inn, referred to as "The Gris," has been open since 1776.
Lewes, Delaware
Lewes calls itself "the first town in the first state," since Delaware was the first to ratify the Constitution. Settled in 1631, by the Dutch, Lewes is home to the oldest building in the state, The Ryves Holt House, as well as a legend about the pirate Blackbeard.
