The Surprising Charm That Keeps Oklahomans Rooted At Home

Funny enough, while most youthful Oklahomans want nothing more than to move away from their small hometowns that dot the landscape, it's the small towns that tend to be the most attractive.

I have a theory that smaller populations have more time and effort to put into their own small towns. At least that was what I watched happen in my own small hometown. Even after Phillips66 stripped away all of the wealth and good-paying jobs, it's still a remarkably clean place to visit twenty years later. They've even improved on the downtown area to reinforce that small-town charm.

I really think that's the thing that makes a town so attractive, a well-preserved downtown area. It's the mix of old and historic buildings and architecture that remains long after other parts of a city evolve into an endless block of big, ugly, modern box storefronts.

That's also one thing I miss seeing living in Lawton all of these years. The downtown area burned down long ago, and instead of rebuilding, they chose to build a great big mall. No harm, no foul, that was the new thing in the 70s. Now that the city owns the mall, they could be bold and give it an overhaul to look like an old-fashioned downtown, but I'm sure most residents would much rather have better roads.

If you spend enough time driving around the small towns of Oklahoma, you may be lucky enough to see them all. Until then, here are the prettiest small towns across the Sooner State.