Today’s roadside attraction is so good it will drive you nuts: the (former) world’s largest pecan in Brunswick, Missouri!
Driving down Hwy 24 in Brunswick, Missouri you’d certainly take faith in the town’s claim as being the “Pecan Capital of Missouri.” The road is speckled with signs for pecan stands and pecan festivals. It’s nuts! (The town is so famous for their pecans, they even host the Brunswick Missouri Pecan Festival.)
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The World’s Largest Pecan (also known as The World’s Largest 20th Century Pecan) was constructed in as 1982 (or possibly earlier) by George and Elizabeth James on the James Pecan Farm, a farm that they tended to for nearly 60 years. This large roadside attraction was meant to be a replica of the farm’s signature Starking Hardy Giant pecan. Their hardy pecan is a large thin-shell variety discovered by George James in 1955. This giant pecan is 7 feet in diameter by 12 feet long, weighs in at around 12,000 pounds, and is made entirely out of concrete.
Does that size really make it the world’s largest pecan roadside attraction? While it did at a time, nowadays it takes second place. So where is the world’s largest pecan located? And how long is it?
When this giant Missouri pecan was erected in 1982 it took the title from the former world’s largest pecan in Seguin, Texas. That roadside attraction was erected in 1962 and stands at 5 feet long, 2.5 feet wide. But Seguin eventually stole the title back in 2011 with a new big nut, one that topped them all at 16 feet long, 8-feet wide.
For many years the giant pecan in Brunswick, Missouri sat among 10,000 pecan trees in front of the Nut Hut roadside stand (next to Wham & Petey’s Pop-Up Theatre and a Pecan Harvester).
Through the years flood damage and George’s passing left the giant pecan a bit worse for the wear, but in 2005 a new paint job brought this weird Missouri roadside attraction back to its glory.
After both George and Elizabeth James passed way, their children took over the pecan farm. They closed the farm in 2010 and sold off the property. In 2013 the world’s largest pecan moved into a prominent spot in downtown Brunswick, near Brunswick City Hall.
Photos of the Former World’s Largest Pecan in Brunswick, Missouri
These photos were taken in 2009, before this roadside attraction moved to its present location.
Looking for more roadside attractions in Missouri? Check out the Route 66 Red Rocker and the World’s Largest Fork!
Former World’s Largest Pecan
Original Location: James Pecan Farms Inc., Highway 24, Brunswick, MO, three miles east of town.
Current Location: 119 W Broadway St, Brunswick, MO 65236
Hours: Always visible
Costs: Free to See
Date of Photos: June 5, 2009
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