FULTON, Mo. (KCTV) – Missouri is home to the nation’s newest historic landmark.
President Donald Trump signed H.R. 1945 into law Nov. 10, designating America’s National Churchill Museum a National Historic Landmark after unanimous approval from Congress. The designation is the highest for an American historic site. The America’s National Churchill Museum National Historic Landmark Act recognizes the Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Aldermanbury, which is the home of the museum on the campus of Westminster College.
The law also calls for a study to explore other options for preserving and sharing the museum’s history. The designation does not automatically make the museum part of the National Park System.
Donald P. Lofe, Jr., president and chief transformation officer of Westminster College, thanked Trump, Rep. Bob Onder, Sens. Josh Hawley and Eric Schmitt and bipartisan congressional supporters.
“This is a defining and remarkable milestone for Westminster College, the City of Fulton and the State of Missouri,” Lofe said.
A 2018 congressional committee report identified New Mexico’s Fort Bayard Historic District, designated in 2004, as the most recent previous National Historic Landmark designation made directly by an act of Congress.
The church and the museum
The church was taken from London to Missouri and rebuilt stone by stone in the 1960s. Its original architectural framework can be traced to at least the 12th century. Sir Christopher Wren redesigned the church after the Great Fire of London. It was heavily damaged during World War II.
Timothy Riley, director and chief curator of America’s National Churchill Museum, said the rebuilding took place after the church was bombed in the war.
“It was an incredible feat in the 1960s to bring this bombed church that was virtually destroyed in World War II and rebuild it in the heartland of America,” Riley said.
Why Fulton
Riley said the designation traces to Winston Churchill’s visit to Fulton 80 years ago. Churchill delivered his “Iron Curtain” speech at Westminster College on March 5, 1946.
“Everything that happened here with the landmark designation revolved around what happened 80 years ago when Winston Churchill travelled to Fulton, Missouri,” Riley said. “He warned the world 80 years ago that an iron curtain was descending upon Europe.”
The speech marked the beginning of the Cold War. A piece of the Berlin Wall sits outside the reconstructed church. Riley said the designation reflects Churchill’s ties to the United States.
“Winston Churchill was, in his lifetime, quite proud of his American connections,” Riley said. “And I think this is a natural building upon that. The relationship between the UK and the United States continues to be strong, and I think this designation in many ways is proof positive that that special relationship is alive and well.”
A ceremony celebrating the designation will take place during Churchill Fellows Weekend, March 19-20, 2027. The weekend’s theme is “Churchill 2046: Lessons for the Next Century.”
More information on the museum is available at NationalChurchillMuseum.org.
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