World's Largest Pecan

The saga of the world’s largest pecan began in 1962, when a dentist built a 1,000-pound, five-foot-long pecan in honor of Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca, a Spanish explorer who subsisted on pecans while imprisoned on Texas’ Guadalupe River, which he referred to as the “the river of nuts.” 

The massive pecan in front of City Hall in Seguin, known as the “pecan capital of Texas,” held on to the title for two decades. But in 1982, some pecan farmers in Brunswick, Missouri, built a 12,000-pound, 12-foot long replica of their patented Starking Hardy Giant pecan.

Despite Brunswick’s gentle reminders, which came in the form of countless postcards with pictures of their beloved nut sent to Seguin’s Chamber of Commerce, the Texas town continued to tout its false claim of housing the world’s largest pecan.

In 2011, Seguin decided to make good on the claim and unveiled its new 16-foot long pecan. The giant nut sits in all its glory by the Texas Agricultural and Heritage Center, proving to visitors that everything is bigger in Texas.