The most unexpected exit on I-70 drops you into a town of record-breaking giant objects

Casey’s big secret is out

About 2,400 people live in Casey, Illinois, a farming town just off Interstate 70, halfway between St. Louis and Indianapolis. You could drive right past it and never think twice.

But pull off at the exit and you’ll find yourself walking down Main Street past a 56-foot rocking chair, a working mailbox the size of a building, and a wind chime you can ring yourself.

Casey holds 12 Guinness World Records for oversized objects, and more than 20 other big sculptures fill the blocks around them. The man who built them all started with a single wind chime and a plan to save his town.

One man’s plan to put Casey on the map

Jim Bolin grew up in Casey, ran a pipeline and tank maintenance company called Bolin Enterprises, and watched his hometown struggle for years.

So he came up with a plan: build something so big that people would pull off the highway to see it.

He and his crew built the sculptures between jobs, using recycled telephone poles, damaged metal pipes, and old oil tanks. The first one went up in late 2011.

Over the next 15 years, they added record after record until Casey held 12 Guinness titles. Bolin passed away on Jan. 27, 2026, but his company has committed to continuing his work.

Pull a rope and ring a 55-foot wind chime

The wind chime that kicked everything off stands over 55 feet tall on East Main Street. Five metal tubes hang from the top, with the longest one stretching 42 feet.

The whole thing weighs 16,932 pounds. You can walk up, grab a rope, and set the chimes swinging.

The sound carries down the block. Bolin built it because he remembered listening to his grandmother’s wind chimes as a kid.

Guinness certified it in 2012, and everything else followed.

A 56-foot rocking chair made from old telephone poles

Directly across the street from the wind chime, you’ll see the rocking chair. It stands 56 feet 1 inch tall, stretches nearly 33 feet wide, and weighs 46,200 pounds.

Bolin’s crew built it mostly from recycled wood telephone poles and metal pipes, and they carved a dove and olive branch into the headrest. The chair actually rocks.

You can’t sit in it, obviously, but you can stand at the base and watch it move. The scale hits you differently in person than in photos.

Climb inside the world’s largest mailbox

About a block west of downtown sits a mailbox measuring 5,743 cubic feet.

A stairway runs up the inside of the post, and when you reach the top, you can drop in a real letter or postcard. The big red flag on the side goes up when mail is inside, just like the one on your mailbox at home.

Letters mailed from the box get a special postmark. You can bring a stamped postcard and send it from right there.

See the giant pencil up close

Some of the best stops in Casey aren’t world record holders.

The giant pencil downtown rises high above the street, its bright yellow paint and pink eraser making it easy to spot from a distance.

It’s a simple school supply turned into a towering landmark and a favorite photo stop for visitors exploring town.

A 30-foot golf tee and a spinning barber pole

Over at the Casey Country Club, the World’s Largest Golf Tee stands 30 feet tall and weighs 6,659 pounds.

Across town, the World’s Largest Pitchfork tips the scale at about 1,940 pounds, built entirely from old telephone poles and pipeline pipe.

Then there’s the barbershop pole outside Tina’s Barber Shop on Main Street, standing 14 feet 7 inches tall and actually spinning.

The World’s Largest Truck Key rounds out this group, a scaled-up copy of Bolin’s own Chevy truck key.

Every record-holding item has to actually work

The golf driver stands about 45 feet tall, made from an aluminum light pole and persimmon wood. Inside a bakery and candy shop on General Robey Street, you’ll find the World’s Largest Wooden Shoes on display.

The Twizzle Spoon sits on South Central Avenue. Here’s the thing about Guinness records in Casey: every certified item has to function as intended.

The wind chime has to chime. The rocking chair has to rock.

The mailbox has to deliver mail. Nothing is just for show.

Snap a photo with the giant bookworm

The giant bookworm stretches playfully across a stack of oversized books outside the local library in Casey.

It’s one of the most charming stops in town because you can walk right up to it and see all the colorful details up close.

The cheerful worm curls over the spines, turning a love of reading into a larger-than-life photo opportunity.

Park once and walk the whole town in an hour

Nearly all of the big attractions sit within a few blocks of Main Street, so you can park once and cover the whole town on foot. Free parking fills public lots and lines the streets downtown.

You can pick up a free printed map at local shops to help track down every item, or rent a golf cart if you want to cover more ground. Most people plan for a quick stop and end up staying several hours.

Casey is that kind of place.

Scripture, function, and a downtown revival

Every oversized sculpture in Casey carries a piece of Scripture that Bolin and his family chose. The functional requirement for Guinness records pushed the crew to build things that actually work, not just look big.

That effort brought attention, and the attention brought new businesses to Casey’s historic downtown. During peak tourism season, hundreds of visitors walk through each day.

Locals tend to stop and chat with you about their town. The friendliness is as noticeable as the 56-foot chair across the street.

Bolin’s crew keeps building after his passing

Bolin Enterprises employs about 250 people, and the company has pledged to carry on what Bolin started. A Jim Bolin Foundation now supports the continued improvement of Casey.

You can stop by the Big Things in a Small Town Workshop to see new projects taking shape.

The town keeps adding new sculptures to its collection, and the workshop gives you a look at how they go from scrap metal to Guinness records.

Casey shows what one person with a big idea can do for a small community.

Check out the big things in Casey, Illinois

You’ll find Casey at Exit 129 off Interstate 70, about two hours from both St. Louis and Indianapolis. All outdoor attractions are free and open around the clock, so you can stop anytime.

But if you want the full experience with local shops and restaurants open, plan for Tuesday through Saturday. Most businesses close on Sundays and Mondays.

Volunteers run the teeter-totter on Saturdays, and some items like the Wooden Shoes are inside shops with regular business hours. Grab a free map downtown and start walking.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

Read more from this brand:

• 85% of this Illinois town is from the 1800’s and you can wander every block
• The creepiest free attraction near Las Vegas is a ghost town baking at the edge of Death Valley
• This Colorado detour drops you into 800 years of ancient Puebloan engineering genius