The Weirdest Monuments In The United States That You Can Visit
America can be a very strange place. There seems to be no end to what we'll memorialize, whether it's our beautiful national monuments or some of the strangest statues in the country. We give our cities and towns some wild names, and we sometimes place importance or attempt to immortalize something that really only holds significance to a small group of people.
As it turns out, there are quite a few bizarre monuments in the US, representing all kinds of animals, plants, theories, or anything else that strikes a local fancy. Some of the weirdest American monuments even show our penchant for satire and humor. Whatever the reason for their construction, these odd monuments can really liven up a cross-country road trip.
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Sh*t Fountain, Chicago, IL
Photo: Jennifer / Flickr / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0Jerzy S. Kenar got a little tired of dogs defecating in his Chicago, IL, neighborhood, so he decided to create a reminder. Not one to post a sign, Kenar, an artist, decided that a large pile of bronze poop would do the trick. For the record, the statue sits on Kenar's property, so the city isn't responsible for cleaning up his poop.
Kenar is well known for his religious and political art, so this slightly shocking statue came as no surprise to his fans.
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Field Of Corn, Dublin, OH
Photo: Web2jordan / Wikipedia / CC BY-SA 3.0The official title of this work of art is Field of Corn (with Osage Oranges), and it features 109 six-foot-tall corncobs. It was created by artist Malcolm Cochran as a tribute to the town's agrarian legacy.
Many visitors, however, refer to it by a different name: Cornhenge.
- 3792 VOTESPhoto: Kevin Trotman / Flickr / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
A true mystery, no one seems to know who placed these monolithic landmarks in rural Georgia. The stones are emblazoned with a 10-part message about the future of mankind in 12 languages.
Some conspiracy theorists believe the monument was constructed by members of the New World Order.
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World's Largest Killer Bee, Hidalgo, TX
Photo: Carol M. Highsmith / Library of Congress / Public DomainThe first Africanized (killer) bees in the US were spotted in Hidalgo, TX, and the city decided to embrace their arrival with a 2,000 pound statue.
Hidalgo calls itself the "killer bee capital of the world." If that doesn't chill you to the bone, consider the price tag: the statue cost the city $20,000.
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Captain James T. Kirk's Future Birthplace, Riverside, IA
Photo: Marshall Astor / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 2.0Gene Roddenberry's 1968 book Making of Star Trek declared that James T. Kirk would be born in a small Iowa town on March 22, 2228. The town wasn't named in the book, but city councilman Steve Miller decided it should (and could) be Riverside.
After erecting a monument claiming Riverside as the future birthplace of the famous character in the mid-'80s, the town changed its slogan from "Where the best begins" to "Where the Trek begins."
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Airport Runway Graves, Savannah, GA
Photo: Daniel Richardson / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 1.0Richard and Catherine Dotson rest semi-peacefully on the runway of the Savannah Airport in Georgia. The land for the airport originally belonged to the Dotsons, and the family insisted that the pair would be happier remaining on the land they loved. The city honored them with headstones in the level pavement.
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Dog Bark Park Inn, Cottonwood, ID
Photo: Graystock / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0Complete with a giant fire hydrant for extra emphasis, the Dog Bark Park Inn is actually a working B&B. For those wondering, you can vacation inside the giant beagle.
The hotel was built by spouses and chainsaw artists Frances and Dennis, and it can sleep up to four people.
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World's Largest Rocking Chair, Casey, IL
Photo: Ramen Junkie / flickr / CC-BY-NC 2.0As it turns out, Casey, IL, is more or less the capital of "world's largest" items. The city boasts the world's largest wind chime, golf tee, and knitting needles, among other things.
This rocking chair, designed and built by Jim Bolin and weighing in at over 46,000 pounds, seems to be the pièce de résistance in this land of giant oddities.
- 9489 VOTESPhoto: Richard J Woodland / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0
No one takes puns more seriously than middle America. Perched on the Nebraska plains, Carhenge is a re-creation of Stonehenge using actual vintage automobiles.
Created by Jim Relnders in 1987, this odd monument stands as a memorial to the artist's father.
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Fork In The Road, Pasadena, CA
Photo: wakitu / Flickr / CC BY-NC 2.0What started as a joke by local residents Bob Stane and Ken Marshall has turned into an important Pasadena, CA, landmark. This actual fork in the road is often the site of food drives and other charitable efforts.
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Hollow Earth Monument, Hamilton, OH
Photo: Christopher Roehl / Wikipedia / Public DomainJohn Symmes, Jr., a 19th-century lecturer, had a theory: he believed the Earth was hollow. In Hamilton, OH, you can see a statue dedicated to this notion, with a hollow Earth sitting at the top.
Symmes retired to Hamilton, and his theory outlived him, at least for a time.
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Ether Monument, Boston, MA
Photo: John Quincy Adams Ward / Wikimedia Commons / Public DomainThe Ether Monument in Boston's Public Garden was created to commemorate the use of ether in medicine, but it really looks like a statue of someone getting high on ether. The inscription, on the statue, however, makes the medical connection clear: "To commemorate that the inhaling of ether causes insensibility to pain."
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Paisano Pete, Fort Stockton, TX
Photo: Matthew Rutledge / Flickr / CC BY 2.0At 22 feet tall, Paisano Pete is actually the second largest roadrunner in the world - there's a bigger one in New Mexico.
Pete is easily the most recognized landmark in the town, even dressing as Santa for Christmas.
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Bamahenge, Josephine, AL
Photo: Dennis Church / flickr / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0Hidden in the woods in Josephine, AL, is a full-scale reproduction of Stonehenge. Built by artist Mark Cline at the behest of George Barber of Barber Motorsports in 2013, this replica is even aligned with the solstice just like the original.
A visit to Bamahenge seems like a great alternative to traveling to England.
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The Stone Man Of Bowman Family Crypt, Shrewsbury, VT
When tanning magnate John Porter Bowman commissioned a statue of himself outside his own mausoleum in 1881, he probably meant to honor his wife and two daughters who rest inside. But of course, John himself is now housed inside, creating a strange tableau of a man visiting his own grave.
The mausoleum was an instant tourist attraction after it was completed, and it still attracts its fair share of onlookers.
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Braddock's Rock, Washington, DC
Braddock's Rock marks the legendary spot where General Edward Braddock landed in 1755 to fight in the French and Indian War. However, there are a few historical faux pas associated with the landmark.
First, there's no actual evidence that Braddock landed there. Second, it's now 16 feet underground at the bottom of a well by the side of an on-ramp, so it's not the most inviting tourist stop.
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Samuelson's Rocks, Joshua Tree National Park, CA
Photo: laurakayemusic / Flickr / CC BY-NC 2.0Most people who visit Joshua Tree National Park have no idea that a strange monument resides in the middle of the desert. If you want to see these early 20th-century carvings of wisdom from John Samuelson, you'll need exact directions and a compass.
Samuelson himself became famous in his day when Earle Stanley Gardner of Perry Mason fame immortalized his story.
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World's Tallest Thermometer, Baker, CA
Photo: are you my rik? / Flickr / CC BY-ND 2.0Standing at the gateway to Death Valley, CA, this 1991 creation by a Salt Lake City sign company can register a maximum temperature of 134 degrees - the hottest temperature ever recorded on Earth.
