Strawberries
Strawberry Point, Iowa; Poteet, Texas
It's little surprise that the tasty and lovable strawberry is claimed as food mascot of many towns. Strawberry crops are produced from coast to coast. But we're chiefly interested in communities that have committed their most scenic vistas to the relationship -- the more embarrassing the better.
Poteet, Texas, wins this one. Even before pulling into this flat, dry little
town,
visitors on highway 16 will notice the badly faded World's Tallest Strawberry.
It's the bulbous top of a 130 ft. tall water tower. A lone horse grazes at its
base.
In town, you can see the a number of strawberry statues and tributes to "Poteet - Strawberry Capital Of Texas."
Strawberry
Point, Iowa is the better known of the
big berry locales, and its statue is probably the technical champion of the World's
Largest Strawberry title. The 15-ft. tall sculpture is on a post in front
of City Hall. It's fiberglass, and was dedicated in the late 1960s, designed
by a local ad agency, and fabricated by an unidentified California company (we
have our theories...)
Other towns claim strawberry superiority, though they haven't bothered to throw up statues: Watsonville, California, is " Strawberry Capital of the World;" Ponchatoula, Louisiana, is also "Strawberry Capital of the World;" and Plant City, Florida, qualifies its supremacy with the title " Winter Strawberry Capital of the World."
Address: 111 E Mission St, Strawberry Point, IA [Show Map]
Directions: Hwy 3 and 13
Hours: Daylight hours. (Call to verify)
Phone: 563-933-4400
Address: Poteet, TX [Show Map]
Directions: Water tower north of town, other strawberry sights along Hwy 16 and Avenue H.
