The Village of Oak Hill is small. Just about 1,400 people live in the southern Ohio town.
But soon, it’ll house a colossal attraction: the world’s largest acorn.
“The idea first came about during my personal travels,” said Kurtis Strickland, president of the local chamber of commerce.
He and his family have stopped to see the world’s largest ball of twine, rocking chair, working chainsaw and turkey.
“And so that's what gave me the initial idea of, why can't we have the world's largest something?”
A gargantuan acorn seemed a logical fit.
“We were established by the Welsh back in the 1800s,” Strickland said. “They stopped and settled Oak Hill because of all the white oak trees surrounding the town.”
Today, the school’s acorn-headed mascot, Archie, pays tribute to the tree. And soon, a giant sculpture will too.
The metal acorn, measuring 12 feet in diameter, is set to be unveiled in the village’s center this spring. Once assembled, Strickland says the figure will oust a sculpture in North Carolina — that measures a measly 10 feet across — to take the title of “World’s Largest Acorn.”
But the jumbo acorn is hardly Ohio’s only claim to supersized fame.
The state boasts more than a dozen attractions proclaiming to be the world’s largest, from a 33-foot-tall can of tomato soup in Napoleon to a 67-foot-long horseshoe crab called ‘Crabbie’ in Hillsboro.
“World’s largest” attractions like these originated more than a century ago, with the rise of highways like Route 66. Today, there are an estimated 200 across the United States.
Strickland says their prevalence shows the impact mega objects can have on a small town like Oak Hill, which doesn’t benefit from natural tourist draws like Lake Erie or Hocking Hills.
“We know from our experience of traveling that going 10 miles out of your way when you're traveling on an interstate or a major highway is something that a lot of people will do,” he said.
And more people stopping on their way to a final destination means more dollars spent in the community.
“We think that's a win-win,” Strickland said.
