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…