If you've heard of Cawker City, KS then you've undoubtedly heard of our famous Ball of Twine!
We are in fact, home to the World's Largest Ball of Sisal Twine...it's kinda our claim to fame.
Every year thousands of visitors come from far and wide to take part in making our ball of twine bigger. Twine, pre-measured and weighed, is provided to visitors who stop by year-round.
Want to add your mark to our big Ball of Twine? Contact Ball of Twine Caretaker Linda Clover and she'll make sure you receive the tour, history lesson, and your very own sisal twine to wrap. You can also stop by Eyegore's Odditorium & Monster Museum to pick up your official twine wrapping kit.
World's Largest Ball of Twine
Cawker City's world famous Ball of Twine was initially created in the hands of local farmer, Frank Stoeber, in 1953. Frank had not been well and decided that rolling his abundance of excess twine, saved from years of feeding his cows bales of hay, into a ball would be good exercise and a way to occupy his time. Thus, began the Ball of Twine.
As his project grew, Frank kept the Ball of Twine in his barn northeast of Cawker City. As his neighbors learned of this project they began sharing their twine with him. He kept careful record of the progress of the weight of the Ball as it grew, carefully weighing it regularly. At one point, the Ball was taken to the Mitchell County Fair, in Beloit, Kansas, where fair-goers made guesses as to its weight.
IN 1961, outgrowing his barn, the Ball was brought to town for Cawker City's Kansas Centennial parade. An obvious attraction, Stoeber asked the city's Chamber of Commerce if they would be willing to build a shelter to house his ball along Wisconsin St./U.S. Highway 24. The city agreed and the Ball found itself in a new home.
Until his death in 1974, Frank continued adding twine to the Ball. After that, local citizens occasional continued to add to the attraction. Today, visitors come from miles around to take part in adding twine.
Every year, on the third weekend in August, the town holds its annual Twine-a-Thon, in conjunction with Cawker's annual City Picnic.
