OWENSVILLE — Owensville is gearing up to make its mark with a monumental project — a record-breaking horseshoe sculpture designed to bring both pride and tourism to the community.

Spearheaded by local resident E. Louise Baker and inspired by the region’s history, the project aims to establish Owensville’s place on the map with a giant tribute to its unique heritage, much like the cowbell in Belle.

Baker considers Jimmy Zumwalt to be a “mover and shaker” in Belle.

Zumwalt built the 15-foot tall, 6,300-pound cowbell that is being considered for the Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s largest cowbell. The steel bell, located on property owned by the Zumwalts along Highway 28, was constructed and installed with the help of co-creators at Heintz Welding. The bell is 12 feet across and eight feet deep, with a 350-pound crane ball as the clapper.

Inspired by this, Baker thought Owensville needed some notoriety and came up with the idea for the world’s largest horseshoe. The current Guinness World Record Horseshoe, built by the Equestrian Team of Dubai, is made of 1,971 horseshoes and measures 11 feet 10 inches tall by 9 feet 2.5 inches wide. The Owensville horseshoe measures 13 feet tall, 10 feet and nine inches wide and boasts 2,468 shoes.

Baker proposed the idea to Chamber of Commerce President Jared Niederer and presented it at the July Chamber of Commerce meeting. She credits John and Cheryl Hoffmann for obtaining horseshoes from farriers and Debbie Dowler for providing a list of farriers. The horseshoe is being built and designed by Tony Shanks of Shanks Blacksmithing and Design, who began his career as a farrier but now makes “beautiful, creative things,” according to Baker. Shanks is offering the group a 40-percent discount.

Cole Scego of Scego Powder Body Coating in Union and Scego Auto Body of Owensville will be clear coating the monument, also at a discounted rate. The structure is planned to be located beside the flagpole by city hall, near the eventual trailhead of the Rock Island Trail State Park. Baker emphasized that the monument needs to be accessible, in a safe spot, clearly visible, easy to maintain, and have nearby parking so people can view and take photos with it.

The city’s website notes that Owensville was named in 1847 after a horseshoe game between local store owner Francis Owen and blacksmith Edward Luster. Despite winning the game, Luster chose to name the town Owensville, believing it sounded better than Lusterville.

The project’s mission statement is to create a Guinness World Record Horseshoe Monument that promotes appreciation of the area’s heritage, supports local businesses, and encourages tourism. Baker plans to eventually sell bricks for the monument, similar to the Veterans Memorial Park.

This week, the group aims to submit their application through the Community Foundation to become a 501c(3) organization. The Horseshoe Monument Team includes Baker as chairman, Gerri Kellmann as secretary, Dana Hampton as treasurer, and Karlee Nicks as the Guinness World Record Report manager. The team is also supported by the Luster-Owens Owensville Horseshoe Pitching Club and had around 16 community members at their most recent meeting. The completion date for the monument is set for September 2025.

“I want people to know we aren’t competing with Belle,” Baker said. “We just want to enhance the area.”

Although there are many other Owensvilles in the country, Missouri’s is the only one named through a horseshoe match.

City Administrator Randy Blaske and City Engineer Travis Hernandez recently met with Clint Barnett and Ron Bench of Missouri State Parks to review and plot out the location of the proposed trailhead. They are now awaiting further updates. The city has agreed to allow the horseshoe to be incorporated with the flagpole, along with new landscaping, as the current flagpole is deteriorating.