Reviewed by: Cecilia Wood
Wetumpka awarded 2021 Small Town of the Year
Reading time: 3 minutes
The City of Wetumpka is celebrating after receiving Alabama’s “Small Town of the Year” award by the Alabama Tourism Department. Read on for all the details.
Why Wetumpka?
As someone who grew up regularly visiting family in Wetumpka, a trip to McDonald’s or the car wash was basically the only things to do. But there was something about its old downtown buildings and layout that always screamed to me that it had potential.
The question was, when would someone else see that? In 2020, someone finally did, and it wasn’t a small someone, either—it was HGTV.
In 2019, the City of Wetumpka strode into the small-town spotlight when it was chosen to be featured on HGTV’s Home Town Takeover series. The town was picked over half a million photo and video submissions highlighting over 2,600 American towns. As my Wetumpka-born and raised Grandma would say, “Oh, my stars!”
During its Home Town Takeover, which filmed in 2020, Wetumpka’s charming downtown got a sparkling update with 12 major renovations, including restaurants, shops and other public buildings to enjoy.
How is the town reacting to the news?
“The City of Wetumpka was delighted to receive the Small Town of the Year Award at the Alabama Governor’s Conference on Tourism last week. The City has been gaining momentum the last several years with many years of planning and implementation. With our downtown streetscape completion and working with HGTV’s Hometown Takeover, Wetumpka has been able to experience this tremendous benefit of tourism. We are excited to share this award with our community and continue our progress on improving the quality of life for our citizens.”
Tiffany Robinson, City Clerk/Treasurer, Wetumpka, Alabama
About the town
As a small Alabama town, you may not know much about Wetumpka. So here are some fast facts:
- It’s known as “The City of Natural Beauty”.
- It’s located in the central region of Alabama just minutes north of Montgomery
- It’s Alabama’s 3rd fastest-growing county + is the economic center of Elmore County.
- It’s currently home to slightly over 8,000 residents.
More Alabama winners
There were several more award winners during the recent Governor’s conference on Tourism. Some include:
- Gulf Coast Exploreum in Mobile: 2021 Attraction of the Year
- The Legacy Museum in Montgomery: From Enslavement to Mass Incarceration: 2022 Attraction of the Year
- Auburn-Opelika Tourism: Tourism Organization of the Year
- And more
Want more on Wetumpka? Check this out.
- See how HGTV’s “Home Town Takeover” impacted these Wetumpka businesses
- Popular Coosa River Craft House opens new location in Wetumpka
Congrats to the City of Wetumpka on your well-deserved win! 👏
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