Albert Rodebaugh of Craigsville, West Virginia, Took the N.C. State Fair Giant Pumpkin Title at 2,123 Pounds, and a Blacksburg Couple Set a Virginia Record

Albert Rodebaugh of Craigsville, West Virginia, hauled a 2,123-pound pumpkin to Raleigh and left the N.C. State Fair with first place. The weigh-in took place Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026, and the results came from the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, which also named a Blacksburg couple as the Virginia record setters.

David and Gwen Harris of Blacksburg took second with a 1,861.8-pound pumpkin, a weight the department’s release lists as a Virginia state record.

Rodebaugh’s 2,123 Pounds Won the Weigh-In and the Best-Looking Prize

The department said the weigh-in was sanctioned by the Great Pumpkin Commonwealth and hosted by the N.C. State Fair. It was open to out-of-state growers, which is how a West Virginia grower ended up at the top of a North Carolina leaderboard.

Rodebaugh’s pumpkin also earned him the Howard Dill Award, given for the best-looking pumpkin in the competition, according to the release. So the biggest pumpkin of the day was also the one the judges liked best.

Third place went to Chris and Stella Rodebaugh, a father and daughter from Lewisburg, West Virginia, with a 1,422-pound pumpkin. The release did not spell out how the two Rodebaugh families are related.

The top three pumpkin finishers are paid by the pound, between $1.50 and $3 per pound, the department said. Watermelon winners are paid more per pound, between $3 and $6.

North Carolina growers also had their own division. James Cain of King won it with a 585.4-pound pumpkin.

The watermelon side of the same competition had its own podium. Todd Dawson of Garner won with a 281.6-pound melon, Andrew Vial of Liberty was second at 257.8 pounds, and Christopher Kent of Sevierville, Tennessee, was third at 251.6 pounds, the department said. The first two watermelon winners are both North Carolinians.

The Harrises’ 1,861.8-Pound Pumpkin Set a Virginia Record

David and Gwen Harris finished about 261 pounds behind the winner, but their second-place pumpkin carried a mark of its own. The state’s release describes the 1,861.8-pound weight as a Virginia state record.

The release does not say what the previous Virginia mark was, and it does not include comments from the couple. The weight and the record designation are what the department published, and the Great Pumpkin Commonwealth is the body that sanctions the weigh-in.

The Great Pumpkin Commonwealth, an international organization that promotes growing giant vegetables, sanctions the N.C. State Fair contest, Carolina Journal reported after the 2024 event. Out-of-state growers can enter only that contest, while North Carolina growers can enter both it and the in-state division.

Other weigh-offs this season have produced bigger numbers. At Ohio’s Canfield event, Carol and Dave Stelts won with a 2,565.5-pound pumpkin, and in Massachusetts Woody Lancaster set a Topsfield Fair record at 2,598 pounds.

Rodebaugh Came Back to Raleigh a Year After Setting the Fair Record

This was not Rodebaugh’s first trip to the top of this leaderboard. In 2025 he won with a 2,244.5-pound pumpkin, which the department’s 2025 release described as both a West Virginia state record and an N.C. State Fair site record. ABC11 reported that 21 pumpkins and 13 watermelons were registered that year.

His 2026 pumpkin came in about 121 pounds lighter than that record weight.

The family has been a fixture in these results. In 2024, Lootpress reported that Chris Rodebaugh of Lewisburg won with a 2,206.1-pound pumpkin that set a West Virginia state record. Albert Rodebaugh II of Craigsville placed third that year at 1,858.5 pounds.

Fair director Kent Yelverton said in the release that the winning giants would be photographed thousands of times during the fair’s 11-day run.

The 2025 podium shows how much the order can change from year to year. Terry Nelson of Thomas, West Virginia, was second with 2,114.5 pounds, and Steve Hall of Covington, Virginia, took the Howard Dill Award with a 1,511.1-pound pumpkin, according to the same 2025 release and the ABC11 report.

In 2024, horticulture superintendent April Blazich said in remarks quoted by Lootpress that the fair had “some remarkable entries this year, despite the challenges farmers have faced in North Carolina and beyond.” She added that at times it had been too hot, too dry or too wet for growers.

The department’s release did not say how far Rodebaugh traveled or what the winning pumpkin was named, and it did not include a quote from him. What it did confirm is the weight, the town and the award, which together make up the official record of this year’s title.

The 2024 results, as reported by Carolina Journal, also show how the Rodebaugh name travels across categories. Chris Rodebaugh took second in the watermelon division that year at 242.6 pounds, behind Andrew Vial of Liberty at 258.6 pounds, while Terry and Lois Nelson of Thomas, West Virginia, were second in pumpkins at 2,197.8 pounds, just 8.3 pounds behind the winner.

The 2026 fair ran Oct. 15 through 25 at the State Fairgrounds in Raleigh, and the winning pumpkins were set to be displayed in the Agri Supply Expo Center during that run. More information about the fair is posted at ncstatefair.org.

This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.

Image: Nick Ares – CC BY-SA 2.0/Wikimedia Commons