World's Largest Peanut

Ashburn, Georgia

Although many covet the crown, the King of Giant Peanuts still rules from its cylindrical brick perch along Interstate 75 in Ashburn.

Lesser peanuts are venerated by the townspeople of Floresville, Texas, and Pelion, South Carolina, as well as Dothan, Alabama ("Peanut Capital of the Word"), and a previous World's Largest Peanut in Durant, Oklahoma. Other also-rans are in the Georgia vicinity, shrimpy goobers in Blakely and Sylvester.

But none of these towns have a serious contender to unseat Ashburn's symbol of local enterprise. By state law it is the Official Peanut Monument of Georgia, and cannot be blocked from public view.

This Goliath goober ruled from its cylindrical brick perch along the interstate until it was knocked down by a Hurricane Michael on October 10, 2018. Rebuilt (in steel), it was restored to its spot in June 2023. A plaque on its brick base says that the peanut was originally erected on February 15, 1975, was designed by A.R. Smith, Jr., and was dedicated to the memory of Nora Lawrence Smith, member of the Georgia Journalism Hall of Fame and co-publisher of Wiregrass Farmer. It's easy to find, on a service road cul de sac next to I-75.

The only other nut worth its salt is the Jimmy Carter Peanut, an hour's drive northwest in Plains.