This Small Town in Illinois Is Filled with the World’s Largest Kitsch
Casey, Illinois contains 12 of the “World’s Largest Things” and a bunch of other “Big Things.”
Sometimes, big things come in small packages. Such is the case with Casey, Illinois, a small town in southern Illinois with a diminutive population and a serious penchant for larger-than-life kitsch. “Big things in a small town” is Casey’s calling card, indicative of a community that—despite being just 2.5 square miles in size—has become a tourist destination for its “World’s Largest” things.
Visiting Casey is like transporting yourself into Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, where everything, from wind chimes to rocking chairs, is super-sized. Altogether, Casey contains 12 of the “World’s Largest” things, scattered around the tiny town and free to view 24/7. These include a windchime the size of a building, a rocking chair large enough to be an event venue, and a mailbox larger than most Manhattan apartments. The collection was the vision of local resident and business owner Jim Bolin, whose outsized dreams for his hometown inspired him to construct—using mostly recycled materials—roadside attractions of grandiose scope and whimsy. Most attractions are clustered around the intersection of Main Street and Central Avenue, by the only stoplight in town, while the World’s Largest Golf Tee and World’s Largest Pitchfork are located nearby at Casey Country Club and Richard’s Farm Restaurant, respectively. Although not everything in town is record-shattering, Casey also boasts a vast collection of modest “Big Things,” like Big Antlers, a Big Bookwork, and a Big Piggy Bank.
There’s certainly no wrong time of year to visit Casey’s herculean attractions, but spring is particularly pastoral with its blooming flowers and greenery, and Fairview Park is an apt stopover for picnics, fishing, disc golf, and the USA Softball of Illinois Hall of Fame Museum. While easily walkable from Main Street, Model Tees LLC Trolley Tours offers guided tours on weekends.
Drive time
3 hours, 20 minutes from Chicago
If you don’t do anything else: Witness the world’s largest things and other big things
Casey lays claim to 12 of the World’s Largest things—a claim to fame made all the more dazzling by the sheer randomness of said things. The one that started it all was the colossal 42-foot wind chime, a Main Street icon finished in 2011. The World’s Largest Golf Tee, a 30-foot lumber-clad behemoth, is likely the only golf tee carved by chainsaw, while the 56-foot-tall rocking chair took two years to complete, and the World’s Largest Mailbox—clocking in at 5,743.41 cubic feet—is also a technically functional mailbox that visitors can climb a ladder into to send mail.
Other enormous oddities include the World’s Largest Key (an exact replica of Bolin’s Chevy truck, FYI), a nearly 12-foot swizzle spoon perched against Brownie’s Place bar, a 14-foot barbershop pole, and an 82-foot-long teeter totter than people can ride. One attraction, the World’s Largest Wooden Shoes, are located inside Wildflour Bakery and Candy Company, and weigh in at a collective 5,000 pounds.
More big things
Not everything in Casey is a world record-holder, but that doesn’t make those objects any less photogenic. Alongside the World’s Largest items, the town contains a plethora of disproportionately large ephemera, including a birdcage with a swing that you can sit on, a giant softball bat outside the USA Softball of Illinois Hall of Fame, a giant bespectacled bookworm in front of the town library, a rocking horse the size of an actual horse, and a mousetrap large enough to trap a grizzly bear.
Head inside to find a giant Pokeball at Model Tees, complete with a cute Pikachu you can pose with, or the big toy glider fittingly parked at Casey Municipal Airport. Things only get zanier from there. Like a 16-foot taco, a 450-pound piggy bank outside of The Hometown Butcher Shop, and an unnervingly large pizza slicer perched in front of The Greathouse of Pizza. Basically, anywhere you go in Casey, there’s an applicable large thing waiting for you.
Fill your days
In between big things, Casey conjures quintessential small-town charm with its indie businesses and events. The USA Softball of Illinois Hall of Fame is Americana at its purest, and Main Street is lined with boutiques and old-timey storefronts, like Olive Tree Marketplace, which is basically Casey’s version of Rose Apothecary with its potted lavender, esoteric vinegars, and tabletop decor. The FD Boutique is a women’s clothing shop, Terra Cottage is teeming with flowers and floral decor, and Casey’s Candy Depot is a nostalgic sweet shoppe filled with fudge, gummies, popcorn, and taffy.
The small town also throws big events. The Casey Popcorn Festival is a Labor Day tradition in Fairview Park, with family-friendly entertainment, carnival rides, a car show, tractor pulls, magicians, and all the free popcorn you can eat. Come holiday season, Candy Canes on Main is another popular pastime—complete with parade, stories with Santa, a giant snowball drop, and assorted gifts and treats.
Eat, drink, and sleep
Restaurants and bars in Casey
If you get hungry, just follow the World’s Largest Pitchfork to Richard’s Farm Restaurant. Located in a ‘30s-era barn, the homey American restaurant specializes in Angus beef, for everything from burgers and steaks to prime rib au jus. As evidenced by the giant taco out front, Cilantros Grill & Cantina is the town spot for tacos and Mexican eats, and Burger Shack is a frills-free shanty for burgers large enough to match their environs. Later, Brownie’s Place—home of the World’s Largest Swizzle Stick—is a folksy bar with a pool table, cheap beer aplenty, and surprisingly late hours. In the morning, rise and shine with a mugful at Casey Coffee Company.
Where to stay in Casey
The ultimate place to spend the night in Casey is the Eighteen-Ninety Sleepover, a former meeting hall—built by the Knights of Pythias in 1890—that now contains a smattering of lofty, brick-lined rooms with modern amenities, four-poster beds, and prime views of Main Street and its myriad super-sized attractions. Some rooms come with kitchenettes, rainfall-style showers, and spiral staircases into lofted bedrooms, while Room 303 is the property’s sole themed room, the Harry Potter-style “Gryffindor Room” bedecked with wizarding decor and a crimson-red color scheme.
In the nearby town of Charleston, McGrady Inn is a quaint bed & breakfast in a former United Brethren from 1919. Stained glass and 23-foot ceilings remain, but clawfoot tubs and cherry sleigh beds are new.
Various chain motels and hotels can also be found in Casey and Charleston, and Unique Suites has a particularly nice outdoor pool when in season.