"Delaware's giant iron skillet was the largest in the world when it was forged in 1950: ten feet across, 18 feet long (with handle), and a capacity of 160 gallons of oil and 200 chickens," the Roadside America says.

"For the next 37 years the pan fried an estimated 100 tons of chicken at the annual Delmarva Chicken Festival."

"A giant piece of straight-up Americana right there on the walls of a museum in downtown New Castle, Delaware. The museum where the world’s largest frying pan is housed is easy to find in a quaint historical downtown area of New Castle. On-street parking, even on a Saturday, was plentiful," the Sweetnicks says.

"It was originally made by the Mumford Sheet Metal Company from Selbyville, Delaware, and weighs in at 650 pounds. It garnered lots of fame during a 48-year-span of being featured at the Delmarva Chicken Festival, where it cooked more than 100 tons of chicken during its run there.

"Because of the pan’s sheer size, it could fry 800 quarter chickens in one batch. Although this particular pan has since been retired (and doesn’t it look great for its age?), the festival continues to this day."

"The Delmarva Chicken Festival (Del-Mar-Va Chicken Festival, Delmarva Chicken Festival and National Chicken Cooking Contest) is an annual event sponsored by Delmarva Poultry Industry, Inc started in 1948 or 1949 with the purpose of publicizing the Delmarva Peninsula with an emphasis on its arguably most important agricultural enterprise, raising chickens.

"The two-day event hosted in various locales on Delmarva features poultry equipment trade shows, the Miss Del-Mar-Va contest, the National Chicken Cooking Contest, a parade, arts and crafts, a carnival, entertainment, and food concessions. Chicken is the featured food, but french fries, corn-on-the-cob, funnel cake, ice cream, kettle corn, and fresh-squeezed lemonade are other local favorites. Nearly three tons of chicken are cooked each year in the world's largest frying pan.

"The pan made its debut at the second annual festival in 1950. The first and original pan was used and made by the Mumford Sheet Metal Company in Selbyville, Delaware, and was "given to the Delmarva Poultry Industry for use in promoting chicken produced on the Delmarva Peninsula". It was ten feet in diameter and had an eight-foot handle, was 18 inches deep, required 180 gallons of cooking oil and 150 gallons of LP gas, weighed 650 pounds, and could hold 800 chicken quarters. The 65th Annual Delmarva Chicken Festival was estimated to use four tons of chicken." (Wikipedia)

"During the 1950 Delmarva Chicken Festival, the “world’s largest fry pan” – a 10-foot-diameter behemoth cooking vessel – was first unveiled. The pan became famous for its ability to fry up tasty chicken for thousands of attendees. The 650-pound pan became a symbol of the Delmarva Chicken Festival and of Delmarva’s chicken industry," the Bay To Bay News says.

"The festival is organized by Delmarva Chicken Association, which advocates for the common good of the chicken community in Delaware, the Eastern Shore of Maryland and Virginia's Eastern Shore.  The pan’s owner and curator, the Georgetown Historical Society, has generously agreed to loan the pan to the festival for display. Perdue Farms, one of the festival’s presenting sponsors, and The Metal Shop of Delmar arranged for the iconic pan to be transported from Georgetown to Salisbury. Once the festival concludes, the pan will be returned to its permanent home in the historical society’s Marvel Carriage Museum.

"The fry pan was manufactured by a Delmarva company – Selbyville’s Mumford Sheet Metal Works. And right from the start, the chicken community’s boosters counted on its incredible size to capture public curiosity. Eight inches deep and made of cast iron, it has dividers that split it into quarters. During festivals, it could fry 800 chicken pieces at once when its 180 gallons of cooking oil were heated up by propane burners below."

"The World's Largest Frying Pan was originally produced for use at the DelMarVa Peninsula Annual Chicken Show and Feed. Currently on display at the Historical Society in downtown Wilmington, this was one of the World's Largest Things I had just heard of through the grapevine. I knew of its existance, but had no idea where DelMarVa was," the World's largest Things says.

"Well, DelMarVa is a contraction of Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia, and the festival took place in various locations in the region refered to as the DelMarVa Peninsula. The pan would therefore move around, also, but just so happened to land in the very town in which I was making inquiries. Background information was a little more difficult, but I tracked down some generalizations from the Historical Society and some specifics at the Library.

"From the Historical Society plaque: World's Largest Frying Pan / In 1948, the Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company sponsored a contest to breed the best broilers. From this came the Delmarva Chicken Festival. In 1950, the Mumford Sheet Metal Works in Selbyville manufactured this ten-foot-diameter frying pan, the world's largest, for the contest. After cooking over one hundred tons of chicken, the festival retired this pan in 1998. Delmarva Poultry, Inc., continues the festival to this day."

"Delaware definitely cooked up something strange when the state erected the largest frying pan on earth and used it to flay approximately 100 tons of meat in order to satisfy the taste buds of 48 years worth of chicken festival attendees," the Best Things Delaware says.

"Today, Delawareans have preserved the peculiar cookware piece at the Nutter D Marvel Carriage Museum."

"There are many historic buildings on the museum grounds such as the Ellis School, a one room schoolhouse built in 1833, the 1890 Epworth Methodist Church and the 1880’s blacksmith shop," the Southern Delaware Tourism says.

"Also, the museum grounds are the home for the Delaware Telephone Museum, Sanger Western Auto Museum, the Boyer train exhibit and the original world’s largest frying pan that was used at the Delmarva Chicken Cooking contest from 1950 to 1989 when it was taken out of service.

"There is a brand-new Wagon House on the grounds that houses carriages from Mr. Nutter Marvel's collection. Among these 30+ carriages are the Queen's carriage, the Disney carriage, a peddlers wagon and an 1800's era horse drawn hearse carriage. There are many treasures to be seen here such as the beautiful collection of victrolas, ephemera, photographs, furniture and many more items related to Georgetown history."

"The Georgetown Historical Society welcomed the original 1950 "worlds largest" frying pan into our collection at the Nutter Marvel Carriage Museum complex. The first picture is of the frying pan being rolled into position by volunteers from the Sussex Central FFA who also transported it to our facility," the Georgetown Historical Society says.



"Georgetown and Easton hosted the first festival in 1948. This pan constructed in 1950 was used until 1988 when it was retired and a new one built by the Mumfords. We want to thank the Delmarva Poultry Industry for entrusting us with this priceless piece of Delmarva history! Clifford Lawson, Ralph Lowe and the Sussex Central Future Farmers of America for their assistance, the Mumfords for being able to come to the "homecoming" and one of our own Mr. Terry Johnson for putting this project together!

"The pan's storied history began in June 1950 when it made its first appearance at the third Delmarva Chicken Festival in Dover, Delaware. Designed and built by the Mumford brothers at Mumford Sheet Metal Works in Selbyville, Delaware, the pan was given to Delmarva Poultry Industry, Inc. (DPI) for use in promoting chicken produced on the Delmarva Peninsula. Indeed, the giant pan has fulfilled its mission! Over the course of the pan’s more than 60 year history, it has cooked tons of chicken and remains one of the festival’s most publicized attractions. The pan measures 10 feet in diameter with an eight foot handle and weighs in at 650 pounds.

"It is eight inches deep, requires 180 gallons of cooking oil to fill, and can cook 800 chicken quarters at one time. When readied
for operation, the pan is placed on a concrete block base over gas fired burners. About 150 gallons of LP gas are used during a two day festival. In 1988 after 38 years of use, the original pan was retired and replaced with a new one, identical in dimensions
to the original."