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What Happens When A Small-Town Family Visits The "World's Largest"... Whatever!

PHOTO FRIDAY — World’s Largest Shoe House, Hellam, PA

By Traci Suppa ( October 7, 2011 at 4:29 am) · Filed under Biggest, Free to see, Northeast, Pennsylvania, Photo Friday, Roadside Attractions, ,

Shoe house

World's largest shoe house! (And possibly the world's ONLY shoe house.)

There was an old woman who visited a shoe. It was closed and her children didn’t know what to do.

Sorry. I’ll stop mangling nursery rhymes now.

This is the Haines Shoe House in Hellam, PA. We found it while visiting the “snack food corridor” of York, Lancaster, and Chester counties in Pennsylvania Dutch Country last month. Built in 1948, it’s 25 feet high and 48 feet long.

It’s actually a house with several interior rooms, although it’s now operating as a museum of sorts. Guided tours are offered, but unfortunately, not when we were there!

By the way, the rest of this family  getaway along the “sweet and salty trail” was really entertaining! Several snack food companies, like Snyder’s of Hanover, UTZ, Herr’s and Turkey Hill Dairy are headquartered here, and offer free public tours.

I wrote a two-part series for FamilyVacationCritic.com about our trip; check it out for more details if you’re interested in planning a trip!

Pennsylvania’s Snack Food Corridor: The Sweet Side

Pennsylvania’s Snack Food Corridor: The Salty Side

world's largest shoe

2 comments

  1. Rebekah Greiman said,
    October 10, 2011 @ 5:59 pm

    Traci-
    You are my new favorite blog! I just got mine back up and running, so I am still tweaking all the details. As soon as I can, I am adding you to my blog roll. I just love what you and your family are doing. What great memories! I know I have them with my family-we were never the beach or snow ski type. Instead, we were the world’s largest prairie dog family type (which subsequently is in western Kansas if you ever get out that way…although there’s a group in South Dakota trying their best to be the world’s largest…)
    Hope to talk with you soon!

    • Traci Suppa said,
      October 11, 2011 @ 9:02 pm

      Thanks, Rebekah! We love finding the “others” who share our affection for quirky roadside attractions. Not many are willing to go public with their secret.

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  1. Finding More Fun: Family Travel Links, October 2011 | Travels with Children by minnemom said,
    October 24, 2011 @ 3:55 pm

    […] World’s Largest Shoe House, Hellam, PA, at Go Big or Go Home […]

  2. Family Road Trip Travel Tips-Trekaroo said,
    June 14, 2013 @ 10:52 am

    […] Make your pit stops more memorable with a quick visit to a quirky roadside attraction, like the world’s largest shoe house, or the world’s largest light bulb. Our go-to resource is RoadsideAmerica.com, where we find state road maps which pin point attractions along our route. We’ve downloaded the app to our GPS, and it goes “ding” whenever we drive close to one!” Traci LaRosa Suppa, Go BIG or Go Home […]