In Cawker City, Kansas, population 469, a ball of sisal twine sits in an open-air gazebo on Main Street. It weighs over 20,000 pounds, stands 11 feet tall, and began as one man's hobby in 1953. Frank Stoeber wrapped twine for 29 years until his death in 1974, by which point the ball was a local curiosity. Now it's a roadside attraction that draws thousands of visitors annually - people who detour from Interstate 70 to see a ball of string and have their photo taken with it. Here's the complication: there are multiple 'World's Largest Ball of Twine' claimants. Darwin, Minnesota, has one. Branson, Missouri, had one. Cawker City's ball keeps growing because they invite visitors to add twine every August during the annual Twine-a-Thon. The rivalry is friendly but real. Cawker City's ball is largest by weight. Darwin's ball was wound by one person. The competition says everything about small-town America and the human need to be biggest at something.
Frank Stoeber was a farmer in Cawker City who started wrapping sisal twine in 1953. Why? Nobody knows for certain. Perhaps he hated to see twine go to waste. Perhaps he wanted a hobby. Perhaps he saw other twine ball stories and wanted one of his own. He wrapped for four hours every day, using twine from his farm and twine donated by neighbors. By 1961, the ball weighed 5,000 pounds and was too heavy to stay in his barn. The town moved it to a public display. Stoeber kept wrapping until his death in 1974. The ball weighed 17,400 pounds by then, 11 feet in diameter, entirely the work of one determined farmer.
Francis Johnson of Darwin, Minnesota, started his ball in 1950 - three years before Stoeber. Johnson worked alone and stopped adding twine in 1979. His ball is preserved in a Plexiglas gazebo, frozen in time. It's smaller than Cawker City's ball but was wound entirely by one person. The Guinness Book of World Records has recognized both at various times, using different criteria. Darwin claims the record for 'largest twine ball rolled by one person.' Cawker City claims the largest ball overall. The rivalry has been covered by newspapers nationwide. Other towns have tried to enter the competition, but Darwin and Cawker City remain the primary contestants in America's strangest civic competition.
After Frank Stoeber's death, Cawker City decided to keep the ball growing. Every August, during the Twine-a-Thon, visitors are invited to add twine to the ball. The community provides twine; visitors wrap. The ball has grown from 17,400 pounds in 1974 to over 20,000 pounds today. This communal approach is either brilliant or cheating, depending on your perspective. Darwin purists argue that their single-builder ball represents true dedication. Cawker City argues that community involvement makes their ball more meaningful. The debate will never be resolved. Both towns have excellent balls of twine. Both have gazebos. Both welcome visitors. America wins.
Cawker City's ball sits in an open gazebo on Wisconsin Street, the main drag through town. Admission is free. A sign records the ball's current statistics. Gift shops nearby sell twine-related merchandise. The ball itself is... exactly what you'd expect: a massive brown sphere of tightly wrapped sisal, weathered by decades of Kansas sun and wind. It's not beautiful. It's not meaningful. It's simply very large, and that largeness creates a strange satisfaction. Visitors pose for photos, touch the twine (permitted), and continue their journey across Kansas with a memory they'll never forget. The ball of twine works because absurdity is its own reward.
The World's Largest Ball of Twine is located at 721 Wisconsin Street in Cawker City, Kansas, about 200 miles west of Kansas City. The ball is outdoors, visible 24/7, and free to visit. Cawker City is just off US-24; Interstate 70 is 12 miles south. The Twine-a-Thon occurs annually in late August - visitors can add to the ball. The town has basic services; Beloit (7 miles east) has more options. The nearest commercial airport is in Salina (60 miles southeast) or Kansas City (200 miles east). Allow 15 minutes unless you're deeply passionate about twine. Consider visiting Darwin, Minnesota, afterward to compare. That's approximately 400 miles north. The quest for the largest ball of twine requires commitment.
Located at 39.51°N, 98.43°W in north-central Kansas. From altitude, Cawker City is nearly invisible - a tiny grid of streets amid endless wheat fields, one of hundreds of small Kansas towns. The twine ball is not visible from altitude. Waconda Lake (a reservoir) is just north of town. US-24 passes through; I-70 is to the south. Salina is 60 miles southeast. The terrain is classic Kansas - flat agricultural land stretching to every horizon. The nearest commercial airports are in Salina, Hays (90 miles west), or Kansas City (200 miles east).