Bridge To Nowhere 

Here's another weird but true story from West Virginia:
In 1977, the small town of Vulcan, West Virginia made international headlines when it attempted to secede from the United States and join the Soviet Union.
Vulcan, a tiny coal mining town of about 200 residents in Mingo County, had been struggling for years to get a bridge built to connect their isolated community to the main road. The town was only accessible by crossing a dangerous railroad bridge on foot, or by driving through Kentucky and then back into West Virginia.
After years of petitioning the state government for help with no success, the frustrated residents took drastic action. They wrote to the Soviet Union asking for foreign aid, essentially threatening to secede if their needs weren't met.
The story caught the attention of international media. A Russian journalist even visited Vulcan and jokingly offered Soviet assistance. Embarrassed by the publicity, the West Virginia state government quickly found the funds to build the bridge.
This quirky incident highlights the sometimes challenging relationship between rural Appalachian communities and state governments, as well as the creative lengths some small towns will go to in order to get attention for their needs.
The "Bridge to Nowhere," as it became known, still stands today as a reminder of Vulcan's brief flirtation with becoming the USSR's smallest satellite state.