Four Indiana Towns Up For Best Small Town in the Midwest

USA Today is searching for the best small town in the Midwest, and four Indiana towns have been nominated.

Small towns have really been a hot topic lately. When it comes to Indiana, we have no shortage of them. Everyone has small-town pride nowadays. As someone who is from a small town in Indiana, I am proud of where I come from. Boonville, Indiana, is a great place to raise a family and to call home. I don't care what anyone says. Recently, we have covered many of these small towns in articles such as the worst small towns in Indiana, an Indiana small town that makes you feel like you are in a Hallmark movie, the best must-visit small town in Indiana, and HGTV naming this Indiana town as the most charming in the state.

Maksym Kapliuk

While there are a lot of great small towns in the Hoosier State, only four of them have been nominated to be USA Today's Best Small Town in the Midwest. USA Today has found 20 small towns — each with a population of fewer than 25,000 — that an expert panel has nominated as the best in the region. Indiana was tied with Michigan for the most towns nominated. Which Indiana towns have been nominated? Let's take a look.

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Four Indiana Towns Up For Best Small Town in the Midwest

According to USA Today, these are the four Indiana Small Towns up for this award. You can see what the publication had to say about each town below.

La Porte, Indiana

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La Porte, Indiana, offers year-round fun thanks to its three scenic lakes, historic downtown, and vibrant community events. Visitors enjoy boating, swimming, and kayaking, and love to experience La Porte's small-town hospitality through festivals like the Sunflower Fair and farmers markets. With nearby attractions like Indiana Dunes National Park, La Porte is a gateway to some of the most treasured natural landscapes on the Lake Michigan coast.

Madison, Indiana

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Madison, Indiana, has played a major role in the history of the Midwest since the 19th century; many local residents helped enslaved people escape from Kentucky via the Underground Railroad. Visitors to Madison can experience the full splendor of the surrounding Ohio River, head west to marvel at waterfalls along Clifty Falls State Park, then set off for the downtown district to embark on a Rockin' Thunder River Tour.

Nashville, Indiana

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A bastion for artists and nature lovers, Nashville is the heart of Brown County, known for its rolling hills, artisan shops, and vibrant fall foliage. Visitors love to explore Brown County State Park, browse local galleries, and snap a few pictures at Bean Blossom Covered Bridge.

Vevay, Indiana

Google Maps

There’s a little slice of Switzerland in Indiana, right on the Ohio River, in the town of Vevay. Settled by Swiss immigrants in 1802, the village became an enclave of wine producers; now, the town holds the Swiss Wine Festival every year. Vevay still has a number of buildings from its early days, including the Benjamin Schenck Mansion, built in 1874.

Which small town do you think is the best in the Midwest? You can vote once per day until the polls close on Monday, March 31, at noon ET. The winning small towns will be announced on Wednesday, April 9. Cast your vote by clicking here.

16 Indiana Towns with Dirty-Sounding Names

A majority of these towns were given their names in the mid-to-late 1800s as settlers making their way across the country found unclaimed plots of land and decided to make them their own. While I imagine they thought the names they came up with were innocent, and perhaps a tribute to something in their lives, pop culture has warped our minds to the point since then that we can't help but think of something about the town that was never intended by its founders. Take a look at this list. I guarantee there's at least one name that will make you chuckle.

Gallery Credit: Ryan O'Bryan

33 Indiana Towns with International Names

From Holland to China, Cuba to Switzerland, and everywhere in between, several towns across the Hoosier State borrow their names from countries and cities around the globe.

Gallery Credit: Ryan O'Bryan