Did you know there are 43 huge sculpted busts of all the US Presidents (except Obama and Trump) that are rotting away on a random farm in Southern Virginia? Just so happens I was in the area yesterday and found the farm after searching for a bit.
These large 20-foot-tall busts were once in an amusement park, but they were abandoned a few years ago and now they’re rotting away behind a gravel field about 30 miles NW of Newport News, Virginia. They’re stacked next to each other on a private farm — what was unknown to me (and is still unknown) is whether the property owner is willing to let visitors stroll around to look at these unique sculptures.
I told my business partner (who I’m traveling with this week) about these giant presidential busts and he was intrigued… so just before dinner we head out to find some commander-in-chiefs hiding in the weeds. Not wanting to be denied permission, we decided to sneak our way onto the property (I figured forgiveness would be easier to obtain than permission). After dirtying up our shoes and circumventing the back side of a golf course, we found the presidents… and snapped off a bunch of pictures.
It was a fun experience and the presidential busts were neat to see. Some are in better shape than others. Poor Abraham Lincoln is missing a big piece on the back side of the head… the great emancipator just can’t catch a break! I will say… the busts had an intriguing appeal because they’re just out rotting in a field. Had I seen them in an amusement park I probably wouldn’t have been as impressed. Plus… the whole clandestine discovery aspect made the adventure a lot of fun.
So if you’re in rural Virginia and looking for some fun… you may want to consider hunting for some presidential busts. Either that or just go knock on the farm door and they may let you go see them anyway (but it won’t be as fun).