Bipartisan legislation designating America’s National Churchill Museum in mid-Missouri’s Fulton as a National Historic Landmark is heading to President Donald Trump’s desk.
Missouri Senator Josh Hawley (R) handled the Senate version. America’s National Churchill Museum director and chief curator Timothy Riley tells 939 the Eagle that he’s thrilled with the bipartisan vote:
“The entire Congress unanimously agreed that our place deserved to be so recognized,” Director Riley says.
Former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill spoke at Westminster College in Fulton in 1946, delivering his famous “Iron Curtain” speech. Presidents and vice presidents in both parties have spoken there as well over the years. President Harry Truman (D) was there in 1946 with Churchill, and President Gerald Ford (R) spoke there in 1977. Then-Vice Presidents Hubert Humphrey (D) and George Herbert Walker Bush (R) have spoken there too, as did President Ronald Reagan (R), after he left office.
Museum director Riley notes the bill also directs the National Park Service to conduct a study to consider future potential designations for the site:
“It will put us on par with (the) St. Louis Arch, Liberty Hall, so many other national landmarks. It’s the highest rank that historic sites can receive in our country,” he says.
Senator Hawley has been sponsoring the bipartisan bill since 2024, and U.S. Rep. Bob Onder (R), who represents Fulton on Capitol, Hill, is the House sponsor.