This Lakeside Missouri City With College-Town Charm Is Home To America's Oldest Record Store

On a sunny Saturday morning in Kirksville, Missouri, you can start the day eating the fluffiest French toast, then walk through a flower-filled campus to a farmers market in the quiet downtown and pick up a stack of new vinyl at the oldest record stores in the United States. Kirksville is not a big city, but as the home of Truman State University and the largest city in the mostly rural region, it has college-town charm and spirit that rivals the hometowns of more famous liberal arts universities, and a peacefulness that can't be beat. From late-night dancing on weekends to sunset dinners by the lake and a vibrant academic atmosphere, you will find surprising charm, history, and myths hidden around every corner of Kirksville.

Kirksville is a common destination for regional travelers in northeastern Missouri, but it is also a great road trip destination for several larger Midwestern cities and a charming weekend stop for a taste of a liberal arts college community. It is less than two hours for travelers from Columbia, Missouri, an artsy college town called the "Athens of Missouri," and about three hours from Kansas City, St. Louis, Des Moines, and Iowa City, the Midwest's only UNESCO-designated city of literature. If you want to fly in, Kirksville's regional airport has flights from St. Louis and Chicago, and a train station is 13 miles away. As a smaller city that is rather spread out with few public transit options, a car makes life much easier. But if you plan ahead, you can use the local Kirk-Tran bus service, which offers flexible daytime routes and is a low-cost option at $2 to $4 per ride.

For the perfect weekend during the school year on Truman State University's campus, you can find frequent concerts and events for local students that are also low-cost and open to the public, including theater performances, Lyceum Series events, music performances, lectures, and art shows. You can also watch college sports teams with inexpensive tickets. If you stop by campus, don't leave without taking a walk –- there are two main gardens near the quadrangle, as well as a fountain, brick buildings, and a large barn that make for beautiful views. The university also runs an observatory on its farm about 1.5 miles from campus that offers visitors free views of the night sky with guidance from an astronomy professor on some weekend nights.

Just a half-mile north of campus, you'll find downtown Kirksville and Rinehart's Music and Video, which calls itself the oldest record store in the United States. Rinehart's has been around since 1897 and specializes in the unique and rare — you can rent sheet music and instruments or buy and trade items like video games, retro consoles, print gaming media, and pop culture collectibles. Along with Rinehart's, you can find local gift shops, books, antiques, consignment, and more. For nightlife, college students frequent Dukum Inn and Club One for karaoke nights and dancing. About seven miles from campus and downtown, Thousand Hills State Park is a must-see. The park includes a marina, swim beach, and trails that wind around Forest Lake and beyond. You can rent paddleboards, kayaks, canoes, and bikes by the hour, take in views from the lakeside restaurant, and stay in a cabin or camp. Prices for cabins range from $108 to just over $200, while camping is the most budget-friendly option at just $14 to $15 per night.

Beyond the main attractions, Kirksville is also home to A.T. Still University, an osteopathic medical school, and the Museum of Osteopathic Medicine, as well as ghost stories that have drawn national attention. The museum is worth a visit and is connected to the story of the dybbuk box, which inspired the movie "The Possession." The box was purchased by the museum's former director and is said to bring bad luck. In addition, there are several supposedly haunted buildings on Truman State University's campus, including Grimm Hall and Baldwin Hall. The so-called "devil's chair," a stone seat in a Kirksville cemetery, also draws ghost hunters. Legend has it that sitting on the chair at midnight on a certain evening will bring grave consequences.

For regional travelers, Kirksville offers many of the typical staples of the rural Midwest, as well as larger chain stores not found in surrounding areas. For those coming from farther away, hotels in Kirksville start around $50, making it a low-cost option. Dining also reflects the area's low cost of living. (For another budget-friendly Missouri destination, Boonville is a charming river gem with a scenic trail and casino.) While the top-rated restaurants in the area include Maxwell's and 54 Diner, locals know that Rosie's Northtown Cafe is the best spot for fluffy French toast, and Pagliai's serves toasted ravioli that rivals the best in St. Louis. With even more to discover, Kirksville is the perfect place to get a taste of life in a city alive with learning and community.