The “set-jetting” trend — visiting real towns and locations that look like the filming sets of period dramas — has driven measurable tourism increases across rural America in 2025 and 2026, according to Skift’s annual destination report. Bridgerton’s English manors and Outlander’s Scotland are obvious draws, but a quieter parallel trend is sending travelers to American towns that look unchanged from the 1880s, 1920s, or 1950s — towns where Hollywood has actually filmed the period dramas it sells to streaming audiences. Here are twelve American small towns frozen in cinematic-looking time, with the films and shows shot in each, drawn from production-tracking databases and state film commission records.
1. Madrid, New Mexico
Madrid (pronounced “MAD-rid”) sits along the Turquoise Trail Scenic Byway between Albuquerque and Santa Fe, and the entire 200-resident town looks like it was airlifted from 1900. The Mine Shaft Tavern, the wooden boardwalks, and the false-front coal-era storefronts have stood largely unchanged for over a century. The 2007 film “Wild Hogs” was filmed almost entirely in Madrid, with John Travolta, Tim Allen, and Martin Lawrence using the town as a stand-in for a generic American Western community. The Maggie’s Diner set built for the film is now a souvenir shop. Madrid is open year-round, with most visitors arriving as part of a Santa Fe day trip.
2. Eureka Springs, Arkansas
Eureka Springs is a Victorian mountain spa town in the Ozarks that has retained its 1880s architecture across the entire historic downtown. The hillside streets are so steep that no two houses sit at the same elevation. The town has been used as a filming location for multiple period productions, including parts of HBO’s “True Detective” Season 3 and several Hallmark Channel period films. The Crescent Hotel, built in 1886, is a frequent filming location and is widely considered haunted. The town’s population is approximately 2,100 and the entire historic district is a National Historic Landmark.
3. St. Augustine, Florida
St. Augustine is the oldest continuously occupied European settlement in the continental United States, founded in 1565, and its colonial architecture has been carefully preserved across the central Spanish quarter. The Castillo de San Marcos fort, the cobblestone streets, and the Spanish colonial buildings have served as filming locations for “Illegally Yours” (1988), parts of “Cross Creek” (1983), and several recent Spanish-colonial period productions for streaming services. The town’s annual population is around 14,000 with several million tourist visits per year.
4. Cape May, New Jersey
Cape May on the southern tip of New Jersey has the highest concentration of preserved Victorian architecture of any town in the United States, with over 600 Victorian-era buildings standing in the historic district. The entire town was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1976. The 1981 film “Ragtime” filmed extensively in Cape May, and the town has been used in multiple Hallmark Christmas movies and period romance productions. The painted-lady Victorian houses along Beach Avenue and Columbia Avenue are essentially the same buildings shown in 1890s lithographs of the town.
5. Galena, Illinois
Galena in northwestern Illinois was a major Mississippi River lead-mining boomtown in the 1820s through 1850s, and most of the central business district has been preserved as it appeared in the 1850s. Ulysses S. Grant lived in Galena before the Civil War, and his home is a state historic site. The Field of Dreams baseball field — the actual 1989 film location — sits roughly two hours east of Galena, but Galena itself has been used in several period productions, including segments of “The Front Page” remake and Lifetime period films. The downtown commercial district has more 1850s buildings than most surviving frontier towns.
6. Beaufort, South Carolina
Beaufort is a Lowcountry coastal town that has served as a filming location for over twenty major Hollywood productions, including “Forrest Gump” (1994), “The Big Chill” (1983), “The Prince of Tides” (1991), and parts of “G.I. Jane” (1997). The antebellum mansions along Bay Street, the live oak trees draped with Spanish moss, and the cobblestone river walk all date from the early 1800s. Beaufort is one of the few American towns where the historic look is so consistent that no production design adjustments are typically needed — directors shoot the existing streets as-is. The town’s population is approximately 13,000.
7. Telluride, Colorado
Telluride sits at 8,750 feet in a box canyon in the San Juan Mountains, and the entire main street has been preserved as a Victorian mining-era streetscape. The 1969 film “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” featured the actual San Miguel Valley Bank, the building where Butch Cassidy committed his first robbery in 1889. The town’s population is approximately 2,500. Filming productions visit regularly. The Telluride Film Festival, held annually since 1974, has made the town one of the most film-conscious small towns in America, and the Victorian downtown architecture has been maintained accordingly.
8. Mendocino, California
Mendocino on the rugged North Coast has a downtown that looks essentially identical to its 1880s coastal logging-era appearance, with weathered Victorian buildings, picket fences, and Pacific Ocean cliffs. The town served as the filming location for the long-running television series “Murder, She Wrote” (1984-1996), with the fictional Cabot Cove, Maine portrayed entirely by Mendocino. The 1955 James Dean film “East of Eden” also filmed in the area. The population is approximately 900, and the town remains popular with set-jetters who explicitly travel there because of the Murder, She Wrote association.
9. Sedona, Arizona
Sedona is best known today for its red rock formations and spiritual tourism, but the town and surrounding Coconino National Forest land has served as the filming location for over 100 Western films from the 1920s through the 1960s. John Wayne filmed multiple Westerns in Sedona. The Apache Trail and Schnebly Hill Road have appeared in dozens of period films. Modern productions, including HBO’s “Westworld” pilot, have used the red rock backdrops. The historic Sedona Heritage Museum displays artifacts from the town’s filming history. The population is approximately 9,800.
10. Bisbee, Arizona
Bisbee is a former copper mining town in the Mule Mountains of southeastern Arizona, with hillside Victorian and early-20th-century architecture that has been left largely unchanged since the 1930s. The Copper Queen Hotel, the Lavender Pit Mine, and the steep stairways winding between residential blocks all date from the boom era. Several recent independent films have filmed in Bisbee, including parts of the Coen Brothers’ “No Country for Old Men” (2007). The town’s population is approximately 5,000 and the historic district has been protected by municipal preservation ordinances since the 1970s.
11. Stillwater, Minnesota
Stillwater on the St. Croix River bills itself as the birthplace of Minnesota, founded in 1843 as a lumber boomtown. The central business district has preserved its 1880s commercial architecture, and the Stillwater Lift Bridge — opened in 1931 — remains a distinctive period feature. The 1993 film “Grumpy Old Men” was filmed largely in Stillwater, with Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau playing residents of the town. The 1995 sequel “Grumpier Old Men” returned to the same locations. The town’s population is approximately 19,000, and the Stillwater Trolley Company runs period-themed historical tours.
12. Williamsburg, Virginia
Colonial Williamsburg is a deliberately reconstructed 18th-century town, with over 88 original colonial buildings and over 400 reconstructed structures spread across 301 acres. It is the largest open-air living history museum in the world. The town has been used as a filming location for “The Patriot” (2000), “The New World” (2005), and HBO’s “John Adams” miniseries (2008). Costumed interpreters live and work in the colonial buildings year-round, and visitors interact with them as colonial-period residents. Annual visitation runs approximately 4 to 5 million people, making Colonial Williamsburg the most-visited American historic preservation destination.
