When we left the Wabash & Erie Canal campground in Delphi, there was a major traffic jam on I-70 due to construction, so we took back roads (US25, then US52) which brought us onto I-70 beyond all of the construction.

Unfortunately, our accommodations for that night wouldn’t be all that enjoyable. We had wanted to stay at the Fairview City Park in Casey but it is a first come, first serve park, no reservations. Based on the fact that everything in the area was full, we figured there was not much of a chance of getting a spot so off to a Walmart we went.

Once we arrived at Walmart and were settled in, we decided to take a drive to Casey, IL known for “Big Things in a Small Town”. This is what I love about this lifestyle – sometimes you just happen to find a hidden gem!

Casey is correct in describing itself as a small town – the population was 2,404 at the 2020 census.

So how did this very small town become such a tourist attraction? Well, it began when Jim Bolin, a local craftsman and businessman, first began the “big” craze when he created the enormous wind chime in 2011 to promote his wife’s tea shop. When he discovered how popular it was, he started to build other big items and the rest is history. Thanks to him, the town quickly became a tourist attraction!

According to an article in Roadtrippers.com, “Casey is only 2.6 square miles, but is currently home to 12 official World’s Largest items and more than 20 other big things that aren’t quite large enough to claim a world title—or have since been eclipsed by larger items elsewhere, according to the Guiness Book of World Records.”

Among those items that hold records are:

• the 56 foot tall Wind Chime where one chime is 42 feet long
• the 56 foot tall Rocking Chair which weighs 46,200 pounds, mostly made from salvaged telephone poles
• the The World’s Largest Mailbox which measures 5,743.41 cubic feet
• the Gilded Bird Cage, big enough for people to enter to sit and swing
• the 45 foot tall, 731 pound Golf Driver
• the 15 foot tall Barbershop Pole
• the largest Wooden Shoes which measure 4ft 9in tall and 11ft 5in long, each shoe weighs 2500 pounds
• the largest Pitch Fork which measures 60 Feet Long and weighs 1,940 Pounds
• the World’s Largest interactive Teeter Totter which measures 83 feet long

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It just so happened they were having a short parade along Main St. for Halloween. But we were able to park and walk around for awhile so we could see everything. Very cool town!

And just as a note, we were wrong about the availability in the city park – we drove through the park and there were plenty of available spaces big enough for our rig. Oh, well, live and learn!

Check out our Big Things in a Small Town photo album.