World's Largest Strawberry, Water Tower, Festival

Poteet, Texas

Even before pulling into this flat, dry little town 30 miles south of San Antonio, visitors on highway 16 will notice the faded World's Tallest Strawberry. It's the bulbous top of a 130 ft. tall water tower.

In town, you can see a giant strawberry, a 7-ft. tall, 1,600-lb. concrete replica on a pedestal in front of the fire department. The base reads "Poteet Strawberry Capital Of Texas," presented to the city by the Central Power and Light Company.

Other strawberry details can be spotted on a 5-minute walking tour of Poteet. There's an exterior painting (signed by Milton Caniff) of the Strawberry Maiden (a character named "Poteet Canyon"). On the window of town hall is a crude painting of Texas as a big strawberry. Everything is badly hand-painted in Poteet, but that's half the charm.

A third strawberry, actually bigger than the civic concrete one, has been plunked in front of the Strawberry Pit food mart for over 30 years.

Poteet holds its annual Strawberry Festival in mid-April. While other towns host Strawberry festivals, Poteet's collection of big fruit landmarks makes it a good stop any time of year.