Why Did This Small Iowa Town Build the World's Largest Strawberry?

♪♪ [Charity Nebbe] Nestled in the rolling hills of northeast Iowa, the town of Strawberry Point is a gateway to the driftless area.

[Deno Andrews] Not being from here originally, I would describe it as quaint, charming.

You know, the people here are incredibly friendly, very nice.

It's a very traditional community.

[Charity Nebbe] The town's history goes back to the mid-1800s, when the US government forced the Winnebago tribe to relocate from their territory in Wisconsin.

Along the way, the military came across an abundant patch of wild strawberries.

They placed a stake at their campsite and labeled it Strawberry Point.

Years later, more settlers began moving into the area but disagreed on what it should be called.

[Laura Harreld] Some traders and some prominent people wanted to name this settlement Franklin because they came from an area, from a town that was called Franklin, but everybody called it Strawberry Point.

[Charity Nebbe] Residents of the town embraced their identity and eventually came together to create the world's largest strawberry.

[Deno Andrews] In the 60s, the citizens of Strawberry Point decided that they wanted a sort of a central piece to draw people to town.

And so, they hired an advertising company that made signs to make the giant strawberry.

It was actually built in California, shipped to Dubuque, and then brought here and assembled.

[Charity Nebbe] The strawberry is made out of fiberglass and weighs about 1,400 pounds.

It's 15 feet tall and 12 feet wide.

It was hoisted onto its home on Commercial Street on June 20, 1967.

Five months after it was installed, a windstorm snapped the pole the strawberry was on, smashing the giant fruit.

It was re-erected in the spring of 1968 and has since towered over city hall, delighting tourists and passersby for more than 50 years.

[Laura Harreld] If you see somebody standing there doing a selfie or a family trying to take a picture with the strawberry, anybody will stop and take their picture for them.

Everybody's so happy to see everybody appreciating the strawberry.

[Charity Nebbe] In early 2025, the strawberry was temporarily removed for refurbishing.

Years of harsh Iowa weather left the fiberglass battered and bruised, and it was no longer structurally sound.

It underwent a 49-day makeover and is back to looking as bright red and juicy as it did in 1967.

♪♪ [Deno Andrews] There's definitely a lot of community ownership with the strawberry.

It's something just wildly different than what you would see.

You know, you go through town after town after town and you see statues and plaques and memorials and this and that.

And in our city, we have a giant strawberry, and it's just such a cool thing.

♪♪