The world’s largest porch swing hangs in Roosevelt Park in Hebron, and it is exactly as delightful as it sounds: 32 feet of swing, suspended by chains from a frame built out of a Reinke center-pivot irrigation span, with a proper roof over it. Eighteen adults can ride at once, if they coordinate their push-off.
It was built in 1985 for the town’s Fourth of July celebration — engineer John Davis drew the plans, Paul O’Callaghan built the seat, and about 50 volunteers got it standing in the park in time for the holiday. It landed Hebron in the Guinness Book of World Records, and in 2016 the governor officially named Hebron “Nebraska’s Porch Swing Capital.”
It’s free, it’s always there, and getting the whole thing swinging takes a group effort — which is the fun. It’s a five-minute detour off Highway 81 and a perfect excuse to stretch your legs in a town you’d otherwise drive past.