History

Churchill museum in Fulton, Missouri, could become National Historic Landmark

KBIA | By Caspar Dowdy

Published December 27, 2025 at 4:00 AM CST

America's National Churchill Museum sits below St. Mary Aldermanbury, a London church first built in the 1200s.

A bill sponsored by U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley to update the museum's designation has passed the U.S. Senate unanimously.

Nearly 80 years ago, Winston Churchill stood in a gymnasium at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri, and delivered one of the most famous lines in modern history: "an iron curtain has descended across the Continent."

Some historians point to the "iron curtain" speech, delivered to the campus shortly after Churchill lost his reelection bid for British prime minister, as the symbolic beginning of the Cold War. To commemorate the event, Westminster College purchased a London church that had been destroyed in World War II and had it imported and rebuilt in Fulton stone by stone. It now houses America's National Churchill Museum.

U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri recently announced that a bill he sponsored, designating the museum as a National Historic Landmark, passed unanimously in the Senate. The church-turned-museum would be the second National Historic Landmark on Westminster's campus, after the gymnasium where Churchill gave his speech.

Tim Riley, the chief curator of the museum, said the National Historic Landmark designation would help raise the profile of the restoration work that's been put into the old church, which was originally built in the 1200s and reconstructed in the 1600s following the Great Fire of London. Following the church's destruction by German firebombing, Riley said donations poured in from across the state to have it rebuilt in Fulton.

"This is truly a national effort to recognize what we have known for a long time here in mid-Missouri is indeed a national and international treasure," he said.

According to the National Park Service, the National Historic Landmark designation can potentially come with opportunities for additional funding and assistance with preservation, but those resources are not guaranteed. Hawley's bill, if passed, would also direct the NPS to conduct a study of the museum to identify future potential for the site.

"We're hopeful in the future that we can work with the nation to lift up the reputation and to tell our story," Riley said. "It's an inspiring one."

Tim Riley, chief curator at Fulton, Missouri's National Churchill Museum, plays the pipe organ in the loft of the reconstructed St. Mary Aldermanbury church, which sits above the museum. "We're hopeful in the future that we can work with the nation to lift up the reputation and to tell our story," he said. "t's an inspiring one." — Tim Riley, chief curator at the National Churchill Museum in Fulton, Missouri, plays the pipe organ in the loft of the reconstructed St. Mary Aldermanbury church, which sits above the museum. "We're hopeful in the future that we can work with the nation to lift up the reputation and to tell our story," he said. "It's an inspiring one."

Riley's team is optimistic that the designation will improve tourism to the small-town attraction. He said he hopes the recognition will free the museum of its status as a "hidden gem."

"I want to hear 'gem,'" he said. "Not 'hidden.'"

The bill now moves on to the U.S. House. Riley is hopeful the designation will become official by March 5 — the 80th anniversary of the "iron curtain" speech — and coincide with the completion of restoration projects on the church's exterior.

"I'm sure if the House members agree with the Senate and believe that this building and what it stands for in Churchill's legacy can continue to inspire new generations," he said, "that it will in fact be signed into law."