Columbus museum ranked one of the best in America by USA Today

A Columbus attraction is, once again, among the most highly rated museums in the nation.

The National Infantry Museum and Soldier Center was named the No. 1 “Best Free Museum” and the No. 3 “Best History Museum” in America by USA Today’s 10Best Readers’ Choice 2020. The museum won the top spot in the “Best Free Museum” category previously in 2016.

A panel of experts partnered with USA Today 10Best editors to pick the initial nominees, and the top ten winners were picked by popular vote, according to USA Today. Voting lasted nearly four weeks, museum representatives said in a news release.

“Just like they always say at the Oscars, we were proud just to be nominated,” said Pete Jones, President and Chief Operating Officer of the National Infantry Museum Foundation, in a statement. “But to come away with first and third place wins ... is testament to just how exceptional this museum is.”

A party to celebrate the achievements will be held at the museum on March 4 at 1 p.m. The museum opened in 2009 and has had more than 3 million visitors.

A full list of the nominees is as follows:

Best Free Museum

1. National Infantry Museum & Soldier Center - Columbus, Ga.

2. National Museum of Mexican Art - Chicago

3. Baltimore Museum of Art - Baltimore

4. The Walters Art Museum - Baltimore

5. Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art - Bentonville, Ark.

6. Saint Louis Art Museum - St. Louis

7. The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art - Kansas City

8. Museum at The Fashion Institute of Technology - New York

9. Cincinnati Art Museum - Cincinnati

10. Smithsonian Institution - Washington, D.C.

Best History Museum

1. National Museum of the Marine Corps - Triangle, Va.

2. The Henry Ford - Dearborn, Mich.

3. National Infantry Museum & Soldier Center - Columbus, Ga.

4. The Mob Museum - Las Vegas

5. National Museum of the Pacific War - Fredericksburg, Texas

6. The American Revolution Museum at Yorktown - Yorktown, Va.

7. Museum of Native American History - Bentonville, Ark.

8. National Civil Rights Museum - Memphis

9. The National WWII Museum - New Orleans

10. Museum of History & Industry - Seattle

This story was originally published February 28, 2020 at 5:10 PM.

Nick Wooten

Columbus Ledger-Enquirer

Nick Wooten is the Accountability/Investigative reporter for the Ledger-Enquirer where he is responsible for covering several topics, including Georgia politics. His work may also appear in the Macon Telegraph. Nick was given the Georgia Press Association’s 2021 Emerging Journalist award for his coverage of elections, COVID-19 and Columbus’ LGBTQ+ community. Before joining McClatchy, he worked for The (Shreveport La.) Times covering city government and investigations. He is a graduate of Mercer University in Macon, Georgia.