Giant Apple

Lancaster, Massachusetts, United States

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Listed, not yet checked · Oct 2026

This Big Thing is recorded as still being here.

The Big Apple of New England is a red apple sculpture at the Johnny Appleseed Visitors' Center, 1000 Route 2 West, Lancaster, Massachusetts. Visit North Central says it is 10 feet tall and weighs over 1,000 pounds; it was unveiled on 10 July 2019.

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Giant Apple

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Approximate location · 42.443° N, 71.685° W

FIELD GUIDE

The story

Massachusetts took on New York's nickname in 2019. When the Big Apple of New England was unveiled outside the Johnny Appleseed Visitors' Center in Lancaster on 10 July 2019, the chair of the board of Visit North Central Massachusetts said of New York, as the Athol Daily News reported, "they can no longer claim the Big Apple; we now have it."

The red apple stands 10 feet tall and weighs over 1,000 pounds, according to Visit North Central, which bills it as the largest apple sculpture of its kind in New England. A Nashoba Valley Voice report from the unveiling gave the height as more than 8 feet, citing the same organisation. At the ceremony Jake Lyman and Lyman Signs were credited with making it look the way it does.

The sculpture honours the region's apple-growing heritage and the folk hero Johnny Appleseed. Visit North Central notes that John Chapman, as he was born, came from nearby Leominster and is the official state folk hero of Massachusetts. Beside it, the visitor centre has a bronze sculpture of the young Johnny Appleseed at its door and 91 apple trees on the grounds, including three Rambo trees that Visit North Central describes as direct descendants of the last remaining tree known to have been planted by him. The centre opened in 1997, and the Athol Daily News reported in 2019 that more than 165,000 people walked through its doors each year.

The visitors' centre is reached from Route 2 westbound, so it suits a stop on the way west; Visit North Central lists the centre as open daily from 8:30am to 5pm; check before travelling, and the apple stands outdoors on the grounds.

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WHAT TO EXPECT

A large red apple sculpture on the grounds of the Johnny Appleseed Visitors' Center, which also has a bronze Johnny Appleseed statue and apple trees. Visit North Central lists the centre as open daily, 8:30am to 5pm, closed on Easter Sunday, 4 July, Thanksgiving and Christmas.

ACCESS

At the Johnny Appleseed Visitors' Center, 1000 Route 2 West, Lancaster, on the westbound side of Route 2. Visit North Central places it between exits 102 and 103; confirm opening days with the centre.

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