Main Street America is proud to recognize Denison Main Street in Denison, Texas; Jefferson Matters in Jefferson, Iowa; and Raton MainStreet in Raton, New Mexico, as the 2025 Great American Main Street Award (GAMSA) winners. This prestigious award is the nation’s top award recognizing communities for their excellence in exemplary preservation-based commercial district revitalization. The 2025 GAMSA honors, sponsored by The Hartford, were presented today at the opening plenary for the Main Street Now Conference in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

“Denison, Jefferson, and Raton exemplify how small communities can overcome economic challenges through ingenuity and collective effort,” said Main Street America President and CEO Erin Barnes. ​“Each program brings a unique perspective, but all three stand out for their resiliency, creative placemaking, and commitment to preservation-based economic development that has transformed their downtowns into vibrant community hubs.”

Denison Main Street — Denison, Texas

Founded in 1872, just south of the Oklahoma border in Northeastern Texas, Denison was once an important commercial hub along the Missouri-Kansas-Texas railroad. But, in 1988, when Union Pacific bought out the railroad, Denison was forced to reinvent itself to survive. The next year, Denison became a Texas Main Street City, turning to Main Street America and the Main Street Approach™ to transform Denison’s main street into a thriving, multi-cultural community.

With a ceaseless commitment to community engagement and community-driven solutions, Denison Main Street met the challenges of Designing Downtown Denison, the most ambitious infrastructure renovation in Denison’s 152-year history, head on, keeping residents informed and protecting the needs of Main Street businesses through open communication and by creating funding programs like the innovative Alley Activation grant, which provides rear access to businesses that are safe, accessible and well-lit. 

Through the tireless efforts of Denison Main Street, the community’s downtown has not only survived, but flourished. The average price for buildings downtown has increased by 200% over the last 15 years and the number of annual visitors to the city has risen by 2.6 million per year over the last three years.

Learn more about Denison Main Street here >
 

Jefferson Matters — Jefferson, Iowa

Continuing strong GAMSA representation from the Main Street Iowa network, Jefferson Matters is the tenth Main Street in Iowa to be awarded the prestigious Great American Main Street Award. Jefferson Matters was previously recognized as a GAMSA semi-finalist in 2020.

Incorporated in 1872, Jefferson is the county seat of Greene County. It has long been a small farming community. While the population of Jefferson hasn’t significantly fluctuated in the past hundred years, the same cannot be said for the rest of Greene County. At its peak population in 1900, Greene County peaked at nearly 18,000. As the modernization of farming techniques led to less need for manual labor, the county’s population slowly dwindled to half of its height, leaving behind empty storefronts in Jefferson and a community seeking new opportunities for economic prosperity.

Jefferson Matters was formed in 2012 with a focus on harnessing the collective power of Jefferson’s residents to create a downtown that is not only a center for commerce, but a hub of culture and community engagement. In 2019, with private and public partnerships, Jefferson Matters led a $2 million building renovation project to bring technology jobs downtown and attract other technology companies as a model for revitalizing their rural community. However, the COVID-19 pandemic halted these plans, threatening future business growth and community morale. Undeterred, the Jefferson Matters board boldly and quickly shifted gears, reallocating funds to bring more public art downtown and catalyzing economic development through creative placemaking.

This redirection, which saw the implementation of new rooftop murals, art and music festivals, and art-focused business recruitment, has resulted in a significant aesthetic and economic boost to downtown Jefferson and Jefferson Matters. Since 2019, through diverse collaborative relationships, creative fundraising, and aggressively seeking grant funds, Jefferson Matters has grown their annual funding from $65,000 to over $250,000, reflecting their strong partnerships and commitment to shared goals across the community.

These efforts have exemplified Jefferson Matters’ commitment to support, promote, and preserve the historic downtown of Jefferson, while contributing to the greater community’s continued vitality.

Read more about Jefferson Matters here >
 

Raton MainStreet — Raton, New Mexico

For over 100 years, Raton was a major railroad, mining, and ranching hub. But when the last coal mines in the area closed in the early 2000s, Raton suffered a significant loss in jobs and population. Disinvestment in public and private property soon followed, leading to a deterioration of Raton’s historic downtown district. 

To address these challenges Raton MainStreet was formed in 1985 as one of the original five communities to enter the New Mexico MainStreet program. After initial struggles with a lack of capacity and financial resources, Raton MainStreet relaunched in 2005, rapidly building momentum after identifying the necessity for forging vital public and private partnerships.

Since then, Raton MainStreet has become a success story in creating and guiding successful collaborative partnerships between local and state agencies and other community stakeholders, helping to plan, pool resources, and build off each other’s expertise and capacity to move their work forward.

In 2015, working closely with New Mexico MainStreet and the City of Raton, Raton MainStreet implemented major public improvement projects, including a $2.2 million upgrade of infrastructure and streetscapes, revitalizing three blocks in the downtown district. These preservation-based economic development efforts also resulted in the restoration and rehabilitation of several historic sites, including the El Raton Theatre (ca. 1930), Yucca Hotel (ca. 1929), and Shuler Theater (ca. 1913).
 
Raton MainStreet’s exceptional leadership has resulted in a renewed and economically resilient community that supports growth and opportunity, while still honoring the main street’s rich historical and cultural heritage. 

Check out Raton MainStreet here >