WASHINGTON COURT HOUSE, OH — Jared Persinger of South Plymouth Pumpkins made some smiles when he rolled his 2,505-pound pumpkin into Miami Trace Elementary School, giving students a close-up look at Ohio’s new state record-holder. The massive gourd, grown right here in Fayette County, now holds the record for heaviest pumpkin ever grown in Ohio.
Persinger’s pumpkin eclipsed the previous Ohio record of 2,388.5 pounds set by Bob and Jo Liggett of Circleville at the 2024 Circleville Pumpkin Show. Although the giant pumpkin didn’t win first place at the Operation Pumpkin Festival weigh-off in Hamilton on October 10 — a 2,518-pound pumpkin from New York took top honors — it still set a new benchmark for the Buckeye State.
The annual festival, a mix of competition and celebration, attracts pumpkin growers and enthusiasts from across the country to compete in the Great Pumpkin Weigh-Off. Persinger’s feat, coming within just a few hundred pounds of the world record, underscores his family’s reputation for cultivating record-breaking produce.
Local students at MTES were thrilled to see the pumpkin up close, celebrating the extraordinary achievement and learning a little about the science and dedication behind growing such massive pumpkins.
“Congratulations to Jared for this incredible accomplishment, and thank you for sharing the excitement with our Panthers!” the school said on social media.
