Janna Whearty has always wanted to visit Hamilton, Missouri.
Why? It's not necessarily on the top of a traveler's bucket list, unless you are a crafter and a quilter. Then you'll love the city's claim to fame.
Named partially after Alexander Hamilton (there's a Broadway musical about his life now if you haven't heard), it is built around the Hannibal & St. Joseph Railroad and managed to remain relatively untouched during the Civil War. The small city has undergone some dramatic changes since it was formed around 1854 and is the hometown of James Cash Penney, who founded JCPenney in 1902.
"The town is where JCPenney was founded and, when they moved, out the city floundered," said Whearty, who lives in Dutchess County, New York.
Hamilton was saved by an unlikely source: quilts.
"A company called the Missouri Star Quilt Co. started in the old JCPenney building and has totally transformed the city," said Whearty.
Siblings Sarah Galbraith and Alan Doan co-founded the Missouri Star Quilt Co. as a way to help support their mother, Jenny Doan. Jenny started her career by sewing other people's quilts together and running a website that sold pre-cut fabric, which generally makes quilting easier and faster.
After one year of lackluster business, Alan suggested that Jenny make YouTube tutorials on how to quilt. Jenny had never made a YouTube video before but agreed.
Soon the videos became hugely popular and quilters were flocking from all over the country to come and meet Jenny. Her YouTube channel currently has more than 436,000 subscribers, and their store has over 180 employees.
Their Missouri Star Quilt Co website has the largest selection of pre-cut fabrics in the world.
Hamilton is located just 1.5 hours northeast of Kansas City on Missouri Highway 36-referred to as The Way of American Genius-which extends across northern Missouri from St. Joseph on the west and Hannibal on the east.
Discover some of America's great ideas, inventions and innovators with a trip along Missouri Highway 36, featuring iconic American stories about the Pony Express (St. Joseph), JC Penney (Hamilton), General John J. "Black Jack" Pershing (Laclede), Walt Disney (Marceline) and Mark Twain (Hannibal).
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