Chester, WV

Chester sits at West Virginia’s northern tip along the Ohio River, and its most famous landmark has a surprisingly local backstory. The red-and-white teapot first appeared on Carolina Avenue in 1938, when William “Babe” Devon turned a huge Hires Root Beer barrel into a roadside stand with a spout and handle. Chester itself was founded in 1896 and incorporated in 1907; the teapot later moved beside the Jennings Randolph Bridge ramp, near the former Rock Springs Park site. The city’s local shorthand is river, pottery country, and one giant piece of roadside theater.