Woman holds world record for largest spoon collection

Cammie Pohl’s Mississippi Spoon Gallery in Davenport now holds more than 38,000 spoons, the largest spoon collection in the world, according to Guinness. (KCCI via CNN Newsource)

DAVENPORT, Iowa (KCCI) -- What started as a gift from her great-grandmother has grown into a Guinness World Records title for a Quad Cities collector.

Cammie Pohl’s Mississippi Spoon Gallery in Davenport now holds more than 38,000 spoons, the largest spoon collection in the world, according to Guinness.

The Mississippi Spoon Gallery, 902 East River Drive, has just been crowned the Guinness World Record’s Largest Spoon Collection.

The owners say their collection of spoons pays tribute to America’s 250 years of history and the history of the Quad Cities area.

“A lot of displays go in, some displays go out,” said Pohl. “When you have over 38,000 spoons, I can only hang approximately, a little over 9,000, maybe 10,000 in the gallery.”

For Pohl, her collection began 36 years ago when her great-grandmother gifted her with her first spoon set, before she left to serve our country.

Pohl said her great-grandmother told her “not to open them until either I got married or bought my first home.”

She stored the boxes before leaving for basic training, and when she returned from the Army and bought her first home two years later, her great-grandmother had already passed away.

“When I got to open up those boxes, I got to celebrate her life all over again,” Pohl said.

A full-circle moment, as Pohl says, because spoons represent a beginning.

“It was the first utensil ever made,” Pohl said.

And spoons are part of stories in our country’s history.

“The souvenir spoon craze didn’t hit here in America until 1891 after the Salem Witch Spoon was actually made and that’s what started the whole craze here in America,” Pohl said.

And Pohl’s collection even highlights the Quad Cities’ history.

“I have the Tri-Cities spoons, before we became the Quad Cities,” Pohl said. “I have Chief Blackhawk spoons. Chief Blackhawk was born over in Rock Island on the cliffs of the Rock River.”

For Pohl, what began as a gifted set of spoons has quickly grown into a passionate pursuit to display our nation’s history.

The Mississippi Spoon Gallery opened in August 2023 and has brought in visitors from near and far.