Bizarre story behind graveyard made from 42 'decaying' heads of US presidents
There are some weird and wonderful theme parks around the world, but away from the popular ones like Disneyland, Universal Studios, and Dollywood, there are more bizarre ones like North Carolina's Land of Oz, the abandoned Pripyat Amusement Park, and South Korea’s sex-themed Love Land.
Another one you might not have heard of is Virginia's Presidents Park. Opening in 2004, Presidents Park closed just six years later and has largely been left to rot. The 10-acre park and accompanying museum is remembered for its 42 heads of the Heads of State ranging from George Washington to George W. Bush. Each was sized between 18 to 20 feet high and sculpted by Houston artist David Adickes.
Adickes was inspired by a trip past Mount Rushmore, and while Presidents Park was initially popular, it faced financial troubles and soon closed. A deal to purchase the park fell through, leading to the 42 heads being moved to a nearby farm in Croaker.
There are 42 statues to represent the 43 presidencies (Grover Cleveland's non-consecutive terms makes up for the discrepancy), although they're in a sorry state these days.
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Despite hopes to repurpose them for another park by owner Howard Hankins, many were damaged in the move and currently sit in a state of disrepair. The Croaker farm is closed to the public apart from rare pop-up events, although it's become a hotspot for photographers sneaking onto the grounds to take snaps of the presidents.
Adickes made a second set of presidential busts for a similar park in South Dakota, but it also closed due to financial difficulties. Some of those busts could still be seen in RV parks around the area.
According to WTKR, the Virginia Presidents Park heads are finally going to be put on display. The outlet confirms that Mark Jakobowski is developing a new project called 'President's Walk'. Explaining how he plans to save the heads, Jakobowski said: "First of all, they're going to be partially restored. They're not going to remain in the condition that you see them in now.
"Start your walk through and [you] get to visit with 42 presidents that I don't think you'll have the opportunity to do anywhere else in the country."
It will be an interactive experience where you'll apparently be able to hear from the men themselves. Don't worry, they aren't coming to life in some horrifying way: "You walk up to Washington with your cell phone.... on a QR code, and Washington will talk to you. He will tell you about what he thinks his great successes were, about his family life.
"As you go from president to president, you'll get the same thing."
It's not just restoring the existing heads, with giant busts of Barack Obama, Donald Trump, and Joe Biden also planned for construction. This isn't the biggest problem, as Jakobowski explained: "The biggest challenge is for us to do what we need to do to get through the planning and zoning process at James City County."
All being well, President's Walk should be open before July 2026.