We Bet You Didn't Know This Small Town In Washington Was Home To Largest Frying Pan In The World
By Sherri Adams|Published December 22, 2022
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Sherri Adams
Author
Sherri Adams is a writer, photographer, and travel enthusiast from the Pacific Northwest. She has always been passionate about writing and the opportunities for connection through the written word. When she’s not writing, you can often find her at the seashore with her toes in the sand and her nose in a book.
The ocean town of Long Beach, Washington has a rich history dating back to 1880. Twenty-eight miles of sandy peninsula await you just beyond the famous “World’s Longest Beach” sign. Though Long Beach is not technically the longest beach in the world, it is the longest beach in the United States and the world’s longest, drivable beach. Long Beach shares another distinction that’s “almost true”. Read on to learn about the roadside attraction that’s been drawing visitors to this oceanfront oasis for decades.
The sandy beach and abundance of razor clams have drawn people to Long Beach for over a century.
Can you imagine hitching up a horse-drawn wagon, and bringing the family to the beach for a day of clam digging? That’s exactly what they did in the early days of Long Beach, Washington.
People of all ages have enjoyed digging for razor clams on the Long Beach Peninsula.
In 1941 the Long Beach Chamber of Commerce commissioned Northwest Copper and Sheet Metal Works to create a giant frying pan to help promote the first annual Long Beach Clam Festival. At 20 feet tall, and weighing in at over 1300 pounds, the frying pan was the largest of its kind at that time.
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It takes a LOT of clams to fill a frying pan of this size.
Chef Wellington W. Marsh created a giant razor clam fritter for the first Clam Festival in Long Beach. 200 pounds of clams, ten gallons of milk, twenty dozen eggs, and thirteen gallons of oil were used to fry the fritter to golden deliciousness. The pan continued to be used year after year for the Clam Festival.
Chef Marsh’s grandfather curated Marsh’s Free Museum, a quirky oddities shop, and popular tourist destination. The frying pan hung outside the museum for years before succumbing to the elements and rusting.
The people of Long Beach have fond memories of the yearly clam bake.
When the giant frying pan fell into disrepair, local retired fisherman Everett L. Mosher decided to try to save this piece of Long Beach History. It took six years of restoration, and in the end, the only salvageable piece was the original handle.
Today, the famous frying pan is displayed next to an enormous razor clam.
The frying pan is now made of fiberglass and hangs with its original handle on display in honor of the very first Razor Clam Festival. A smaller pan is now used to cook fritters at the yearly festival.
Razor clamming is still a popular pastime in Long Beach.
Though the title of "World’s Largest Frying Pan" no longer belongs to Long Beach, they still hold the distinction of having the only giant frying pan used to cook clam fritters.
Have you visited the Long Beach Peninsula? Did you go clam digging or snap a photo in front of the famous giant frying pan? We’d love to hear about your experience. Leave us a comment and tell us what you think of Long Beach’s razor clams.
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