Visit: Historical Society of Delaware & the World’s Largest Frying Pan {New Castle, DE}

So when I was going through the list of quirky roadside attractions that we could build into our road trip to Baltimore, and spied a mention for the world’s largest frying pan, I added it straight to our list.

I mean, how could I not?

A giant piece of straight-up Americana right there on the walls of a museum in downtown New Castle, Delaware.

And since it was really just a few miles from the giant statue of Mary and we seemed to be on an unplanned trip of visiting giant things, it was really a given that we would stop.

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.

As soon as we walked in, I spied the penny smushing machine and made a mental note to get one on the way out (one side has the name of the museum, and the other side celebrates the anniversary of DuPont). A perfect addition to our growing collection.

Besides having the world’s largest frying pan, the museum is also home to all historical things pertaining to Delaware. We paid our admission fee (I believe it was $14 for the three of us, no AAA discounts), and started on our self-guided tour.

We learned quite a few things about Delaware while there, including the fact that the Delaware Memorial Bridge that we had just driven over was actually the world’s second longest twin span bridge, and I love crossing it.

And then we saw it.

The world’s largest frying pan.

It was originally made by the Mumford Sheet Metal Company from Selbyville, Delaware, and weighs in at 650 pounds.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.

You can see the frying pan in action in the above picture.

Pure awesomeness.

The museum is a nice quiet space to browse at your leisure, and it took us about half an hour to go through the different exhibits. There is also a rather large gift shop with a wide variety of both historical and novelty items, and the staff is very friendly and outgoing. If you’re in the area or passing through, it’s a nice quick and easy stop for the whole family.

And hello? It’s not every day you get to see the world’s largest frying pan.

Historical Society of Delaware
504 N. Market St., Wilmington, DE
302-655-7161

Some of you might have seen this on my Instagram last night … but in case you didn’t… Support a ten-year-old budding entrepreneur and a local animal rescue group with one small purchase. Nick is making these bracelets (they fit both adult and child) and selling them for $4 each. Half of every purchase will be donated to the animal rescue group that we work with. Price includes US shipping. Additional colors available by request. If you’re interested, drop me a line at CATE at SWEETNICKS dot COM. He sold 18 already within two hours of posting the picture – so proud of him and what he’s doing to help homeless dogs and cats.

Tomorrow? Cookies!