Blog Post

World's Largest Rocking Chair, world record in Casey, Illinois

Jan 26, 2024

Casey, Illinois, United States--The giant Rocking Chair in Casey, Illinois, United States, was built for the express purpose of breaking the World Record for large rocking chairs; the very large chair stands over 42 feet tall, is crafted out of welded steel and sets the world record for being the World's Largest Rocking Chair, according to the WORLD RECORD ACADEMY.

"The Rocking Chair proved to be the most difficult World's Record attempt. This monster of a project took two years to complete.

"The Chair claimed the title on October 20, 2015. In order to achieve the World's Largest designation, the Rocking Chair needed to rock! It took ten grown men to accomplish this task!" the Big Things in a Small Town says.

"The headrest and armrests of the Chair include intricate carving and staining with a dove of peace featured on the center of the headrest and olive branches on the armrests."

"Created in 2008, the World’s Largest Rocking Chair (official name and title) was built for the express purpose of breaking the Guinness World Record for large rocking chairs. The nearby Route 66 Fanning Outpost commissioned the massive piece of furniture as a roadside attraction in the grand American tradition. The chair stands over 42 feet tall and is crafted out of welded steel, emblazoned with the logo for the Outpost across the chair back," the Atlas Obscura says.

When it was first created, the giant rocker was actually able to sway back and forth as though it was just sitting on some Southern porch. While this was a requirement to achieve the world record, the behemoth was terrifying in motion and had to be securely welded to the ground.

"The World’s Largest Rocking Chair is not open for people to actually sit in save for one day a year, known obviously as “Picture on Rocker Day,” when a lift is hired to raise people up onto the seat."

"The rocking chair is made mostly of recycled material. All of the wood was slavaged from old telephone poles and metal pipes that were once used to transfer oil. The material cost was less that $1,000.00,' the City of Casey, IL says.

Height 32 ft 6 in.
Weight 46,200 lbs

"Across East Main Street from the chime is the World’s Largest Rocking Chair; yes, the 46,200-pound chair actually rocks, but unfortunately it’s too large for visitors to try out themselves," the Roadtrippers says.

"Intricately carved with a dove and olive branch design, the 56-foot-tall wooden rocker is accompanied by a snippet of scripture that hints at the difficulty Bolin and a dozen others had constructing the chair, which took 2 years to build: “I have told you these things so that in Me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

"In hopes to promote tourism in Casey, local businessman Jim Bolin had the idea to build the large sculptures throughout the town. Though the idea of having large sculptures of random items scattered throughout a town might sound weird, the origin story behind them is precious," the Country Living says.

"Bolin had the idea to create the wind chime, which was completed in 2011, because he would listen to wind chimes with his grandmother as a child—cue the "awes" now.

"Bolin's collection of work, which is perfectly named Big Things in a Small Town, has been the inspiration of many visitors' Instagram posts, specifically the rocking chair that took two years to complete, is almost 57 feet high, and even rocks back and forth."

"How big do you think the world’s largest rocking chair is? 10 feet tall? 20 feet tall? 40 feet tall? What if I told you that the world’s largest rocking chair in Casey, Illinois was a whopping 56 feet tall? Sit with that fact for a while," the Silly America says..

"The World’s Largest Rocking Chair is located in Casey, Illinois, a small town that has become known for its big things. They have twelve Guinness world record sized attractions (like the world’s largest wind chime and the world’s largest teeter totter) and a myriad of other larger than life objects. And this Illinois roadside attraction is the biggest of the big. Measuring at 56 feet, 1 inch tall and 32 feet 10 inches wide, and weighing 46,200 pounds this big chair eclipses every rocking chair, and every regular chair, in America.

"The giant rocker was completed on August 25, 2015 and verified on October 20 of that year, but this wasn’t the first roadside attraction to hold the title. Previously the title had belonged to a giant rocking chair in Fanning Missouri that stands at an impressive 42 feet, four inches tall and prior to that was the 34-foot-tall Big John rocking chair in Franklin, Indiana."

"Since its creation, no one—except for Bolin, a few of his employees, and a few media representatives—has been atop the rocking chair. But a business in town, Special Delivery by Kim’s Crafts, has a green screen and creates souvenir photographs for tourists who are interested in convincing their friends they’ve sat on the giant chair," the Roadtrippers.com says.

“To this day, when people see the photographs, they think people have been on top of the rocking chair,” says Deb Bohannon, the marketing, media, and human resources manager of Bolin Enterprises. Bolin didn’t anticipate how popular the rocking chair would become, so he didn’t build the structure with stair access. “With all of our other attractions, you can touch them, feel them, and go inside them,” Bohannon says. “With the rocking chair, you want to get on top of there, but you can’t.”

"According to Bolin, it costs $18,000 to fly in, house, and create an event for Guinness officials who determine whether or not the objects are big enough for the world record."

"A visit to Casey, Illinois, the Home of the World’s Largest, is a must for anyone looking for roadside attractions. In this small town, you will not only see one but fourteen of the world’s largest. Not to mention another ten or more big things that will make your trip to this small town more memorable than you had anticipated!" the twoworldstreasures.com says.

"The first time I heard of Casey Illinois was from a booklet I picked up at the Illinois Visitor Center. The front of it caught my eye since there was a picture of The World’s Largest Rocking Chair. Maybe someday, I thought to myself, we’ll make a pit stop here on our journey. And it occurred over the holiday season last year as we traveled from a city in southern Illinois to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The GPS directed us via Casey. Yay!

"The big rocking chair we saw in Fanning, Missouri sprang to mind when I saw it. a tiny village close to Cuba, where the former US Route 66 crosses the town. I wonder if this rocking chair is the same size as the one in Fanning, bigger, or smaller. I discovered that the one in Casey now holds the new record when I googled it. It stands 56 feet tall and weighs 46,200 pounds. Address: 117 East Main Street."

""Casey is the home to several Guinness World Record constructions - super-sized items in the form of outdoor sculptures—including the Wind Chime, Rocking Chair, Knitting Needles, Crochet Hook, Pitchfork, Golf Tee, Yardstick, Wooden Token, Dutch Wooden Shoes, Mailbox, Pencil and Birdcage," Wikipedia says.

"Casey is most known for its collection of "World's Largest" items. Local craftsman and businessman, Jim Bolin, has built fourteen Guinness World record-qualifying things with Bolin Enterprises, Inc.: