Famous People From Not So Famous Places

There are a number of famous Americans who grew up in small and midsize towns across the United States.

These communities shaped these innovators, performers and leaders.

So, here’s to some of these lesser-known towns on our travel itinerary where well-known figures started out in life.

George Lucas grew up in the California Central Valley town of Modesto. He based his 1973 movie, “American Graffiti,” on his teenage years cruising up and down the city streets. A statue honoring that film sits in an intersection downtown.

Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet during World War Two, was born in Fredericksburg, Texas. There is a gallery honoring him in the National Museum of the Pacific War in this town of 11,000 people about 70 miles north of San Antonio.

Humorist Will Rogers was born in Claremore, Oklahoma.

Humorist Will Rogers was raised in Claremore, Oklahoma, just outside Tulsa. His father, Clem Rogers, was one of the first Anglo settlers in the region. Rogers County, which includes Claremore, is named after him. Country singer Patti Page was also from here. Claremore is also the setting for the musical, “Oklahoma.”

Country Music Hall of Fame member Garth Brooks was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, but he grew up in Yukon, Oklahoma, a town of 25,000 just west of Oklahoma City.

Legendary country western singer Hank Williams Sr. grew up in Georgiana, Alabama, a rural town of about 1,200 people north of Mobile. His boyhood home here is a museum.

Congressman John Lewis, the civil rights activist who served in Congress for more than three decades, was born in Troy, Alabama, a town of 17,000 just outside Montgomery.

The small town of Lamar, Missouri, has had two well-known residents. One is President Harry Truman, who was born in 1884 in this town of 4,300 residents. His childhood home is now a state historic landmark. The other famous resident was lawman Wyatt Earp, who moved to the town when he was 21 in 1869 to accept the job of local constable that his father had given up. He lived in Lamar for about two years, moving away after his wife died of typhoid.

Nearby Lamar is the town of Nevada, Missouri. It’s the birthplace of famed movie director, John Huston, whose grandfather claimed to have won the hamlet in a poker game. Today, Nevada has about 8,100 residents.

Also in Missouri is the town of Maryville, a little north of Kansas City. The community of nearly 11,000 residents is where author Dale Carnegie was born into poverty in 1888. Carnegie lived in several small towns as a child. His parents were poor farmers. Carnegie worked as a traveling sales representative before getting into public speaking. He eventually wrote “How to Win Friends & Influence People,” one of the best selling self-help books of all time. The success of the book prompted him to start the Dale Carnegie Institute, which provides people with professional business leadership training.

Another rags to riches story is influential pastor Billy Graham, who was raised in rural towns outside of his birthplace of Charlotte, North Carolina, before being his religious-based empire.

The mother-daughter singing duo of Naomi Judd and Wynonna Judd were both born in Ashland, Kentucky, a town of about 20,000 along the Ohio River at the West Virginia border.

Legendary songwriter Cole Porter was born in Peru, Indiana, a community of 11,000 people. Porter spent his early childhood years here before going on to write more than 800 songs, mostly for Broadway musicals. He’s buried at Mount Hope Cemetery in town. His family’s home has been converted to the Cole Porter Inn.

A trio of famous cousins grew up in the small Louisiana town of Ferriday. Singer Jerry Lee Lewis was reportedly quite close to his first cousins, singer Mickey Gilley and televangelist Jimmy Swaggart.

Astronaut Neil Armstrong, the first person to walk on the moon, grew up in Wapakoneta, Ohio, a community of less than 10,000 people northwest of Columbus. The Armstrong Air and Space Museum is located there.

Circus owner P. T. Barnum spent most of his life in Bridgeport, Connecticut.

Circus owner P. T. Barnum, who was born in Bethel, Connecticut, lived in Bridgeport, Connecticut, from 1846 to his death in 1891. He was elected mayor of that city in 1875.

The Manchester area of New Hampshire has quite a comedy connection. Comedians Seth Meyers, Adam Sandler and Sarah Silverman all grew up in the region.

Singer John Denver and actor Demi Moore are both from Roswell, New Mexico, the town of UFO culture fame.

Phyllis Diller, the groundbreaking comedian, grew up in Lima, Ohio, a town of 35,000 people, before launching her stand-up career in California in the 1950s.

Actor Don Knotts, who won five Emmys for his portrayal of Barney Fife on the 1960s Andy Griffith Show, was born in Morgantown, West Virginia, a community of 30,000 residents in the northern part of the state.

Actor William H. Macy grew up in Cumberland, Maryland, a community of less than 20,000 people. He graduated from Allegany High School, where he was junior class and senior class president.

More names and towns will be added to this column as our cross-country journey progresses.