Community Corner

Go, Healdsburg! Ranked No. 2 'Best Small Town to Visit in America in 2014'

Smithsonian magazine selects towns with small populations and big appeal.

Smithsonian magazine embarked on its annual pursuit of finding and ranking America's top 20 small towns, and on that 2014 list Healdsburg came in at No. 2!

The heritage-filled Healdsburg Museum, quaint Healdsburg Plaza, the abundance at Fitch Mountain, plus the vineyards, farm-to-table cuisine options, the Mercantile Shop -- oh! and the weather! -- were rolled together, making Healdsburg a must-stop-and-see recommendation.

"To get a sense of how rich the soil is, how blessed the climate, you don't have to go farther than Healdsburg Plaza, established by town founder Harmon Heald in 1857," says the magazine's writer. "Walkways, a fountain and a postmodern pavilion are shaded by mature coast redwoods and live oaks, orange trees and crape myrtles." 

The No. 1 slot for 2014 went to Chautauqua, NY, based on the Smithsonian staff's data analysis of cities of fewer than 15,000 residents where cultural opportunities abound, according to the publication.

"We've singled out communities for particular strengths in history, music, visual arts, learning, food, theater and science," said Smithsonian writers. "It's not solitude we're seeking—the fruits of human creativity are best shared—but, rather, enrichments unbothered by the growl of our increasingly urban lives."

This is the third year the magazine ranked America's small towns. In 2013, Sausalito came in at No. 12.

California cities that made the 2012 roster were Mill Valley at No. 4, and Laguna Beach at No. 17. 

Read this year's full compilation, The 20 Best Small Towns to Visit in 2014, here.




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