17 town welcome signs you won't see anywhere else
"Welcome to Earth, Est. 1924"


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In the land of the road trip, the marking of town borders becomes a matter of local pride. Towns like to welcome visitors, who may only be passing through, with announcements about their history (Vincennes, Ind.: "Indiana's First City"), industry (Leominster, Mass.: "Pioneer Plastics City"), geography (Pittsville, Wisc.: "The Exact Center of Wisconsin"), or positive attitudes (Happy, Texas: "The Town Without a Frown").
Here are 17 town signs that don't quite fit the mold.
1. EATON RAPIDS, MICH.
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"Welcome to the only Eaton Rapids on Earth."
2. READLYN, IA.
"857 friendly people and one old grump"
3. ABBEVILLE, GA.
"Keep it in mind!"
4. OLD CONCORD, PA.
"Originally Concord"
5. HEPPNER, ORE.
"Gateway to the Blues"
6. EARTH, TEXAS
Gerald Thurman/Road Trip America
"Welcome to Earth, Est. 1924"
7. SANTA CLAUS, GA.
"The city that loves children"
8. HARTVILLE, WYO.
"Wyoming's oldest incorporated town that is still in existence"
9. BELGIUM, WISC.
"Home of Luxembourgers"
10. KERMIT, W.VA.
"Striving to be the state's cleanest town"
11. GRAVITY, IA.
"We're down to earth. If Gravity goes, we all go."
12. GETTYSBURG, S.D.
"Where the battle wasn't"
13. BOYD, WISC.
"The friendly town — why go by?"
14. WASHTA, IA.
"Coldest spot in Iowa"
15. CHERRYFIELD, MAINE
"Blueberry capital of the world."
16. NEVADA, IA.
"26th best small town in America"
17. HYDER, ALASKA
"The friendliest ghost town in Alaska"
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Arika Okrent is editor-at-large at TheWeek.com and a frequent contributor to Mental Floss. She is the author of In the Land of Invented Languages, a history of the attempt to build a better language. She holds a doctorate in linguistics and a first-level certification in Klingon. Follow her on Twitter.
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