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Brice Baughman’s “The Statues”—Zanesville

Baughman (1874-1954) was from Black Run, Ohio. He was a stonecarver who created sandstone monuments and sculptural pieces in the deep wood of his farm near Jackson Township in Muskingun County, Ohio. He taught himself to carve animals and people from the hard rock there; a massive sandstone formation with only a shallow covering of soil. He made his first statue in 1898, that of President William McKinley. Baughman, two sons, and a nephew cleared the ground around the statues and scattered picnic tables amongst them. The day the last statue was dedicated, more than 3,000 cars passed through the park to see the site. The sculptures are still there, and there are current activities to make them more accessible.

Remembering the Brice Baughman Statues

Dear Weird OH,
I remember as a child driving through the park with Brice Baughman’s Statues staring down at my car. I always felt they were bigger than life and perhaps, due to their remote area in the woods, always expected them to climb off their podiums and into the woods where they would wreck havoc on the local country folk.

I recently was passing through, visiting family, and thought I would stop by to see if they were still around. The old trail “Baughman Park Road” is still there but it is overgrown and I was met with a gate that asked to kindly not trespass. I had to see at least one statue for my self and would’ve gotten deeper if not for the hundreds of various beetles that flew at me. It was like they were guarding the place. People in town said that the land was bought up 11 or so years ago and is now a private residence. At least one statue is still standing, however overgrown it may be. The whole territory is just West of Frazeyburg on Ohio Route 586. 
–Ray Blasi

Weird Ohio

 

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