On the outskirts of Williamsburg, Virginia near the town of Croaker, are the remains of forty-two large sculptures of past presidents. The story of the presidents’ busts begins in March of 2004. A man named Everette H. “Haley” Newman III, an attraction entrepreneur, came up with the idea to create a park, where those with a patriotic yearning for history could visit. In the park they could experience close up, sculptured likeness of forty-three presidents.

Each of the sculptures were created by an artist from Houston Texas, David Adickes. Newman’s vision was to have the likeness stand tall and be as prominent as the faces on Mount Rushmore, which are sixty feet in height. He knew that size was impractical to have them that large. But he also knew the Rushmore faces were at a far distance from the general viewing area. He determined that close up, twenty feet would make them impressive to visitors.

When David Adickes took on the job in his studio in Houston, he was given the idea of the president’s size and how they should look. With his team of crafts persons, they began putting together each head with interior metal supports. Next large rubber molds were made and covered the metal work. When molds were removed, each president’s face was created in fine detail. The more detail in a face the finer the results. It was explained that President Ford was the most difficult to create, due to lack of detail in his face.

Each sculpture took six weeks to complete. When asked which were the easiest to construct, he indicated the presidents with prominent features such as Abraham Lincoln and George Washington. He also decided to make those two twenty-five feet in height, making them prominent among the others. He believed that Lincoln and Washington had the most influence on where our young country was going, to become a great nation.

He determined that Andrew Jackson would also be one of the three twenty-five-foot sculptures. Why? Well, he liked Jackson’s pompadour style hair, and his stylish military jacket. In truth, Jackson was not considered a good president, and had a lot of controversy while in office. Still the artist creating the sculptures decided Jackson would stand tall among the other forty.

The park’s creators were disappointed that the park drew very few visitors. Four years after it was opened, the park went bankrupt and closed. Then in 2010 the park owners were approached by a car rental business wanting to purchase the property. But the sculptures had to go before construction could begin. Howard Hankins, a builder who had helped construct the park was hired to demolish the park and crush the heads, and remove the metal frame work to be recycled.

Hankins could not bring himself to destroy the heads. So he began the process of moving each head eleven miles up the road to his storage area on land that was being used to recycle concrete for construction purposes. Each head’s measurements were checked to ensure there were no issues with passing under bridges. For the most part the transfer went well with the exception of one head that was just a little taller than reported, it struck the bridge and knocked a hole in the forehead of the president. The bridge was undamaged. One other head sustained damage when it rolled off the truck. That was President Lincoln who sustained a large hole in the back of his head.

In 2017, National Geographic showcased the heads in a video. Hankins explained to the camera the future of the heads was to be part of another planned park. By this time the heads were beginning to show that moisture, time, and the move had caused the beginning of deterioration to each head. Adding to the weather problems was the fact that in the top of each head, a large hole had been made to secure a lifting point for the crane. This has let in rain for the past thirteen years.

The park was opened but only open on rare occasions when the industrial salvage yard is closed. Those are the holidays of Easter, Christmas, Thanksgiving, and occasionally the 4th of July. Only 1,500 tickets are available to be purchased for each three-day weekend. Visitors view the sculptures during two-hour group tours throughout each day. Special tours are held at night for those wishing to see the presidents in moon light or with special lighting they bring with them.

The tour guide states that the park heads are more interesting to visitors now than when they were in pristine condition inside the park. He says people come to take pictures and stand next to the sculptures. But they mostly come to see how the heads are decaying. When asked if there are plans to repair the presidents, he says no. “The public wants them this way, and that is how they will remain.”

The original artist constructed three sets of heads. One is in President’s Park in Houston, and the second is in the Mount Rushmore area of South Dakota. And the third is in the salvage yard in Croaker, Virginia.

The abandoned president’s park does not have President Trump, Biden or Obama in their collection. The collection in Texas and South Dakota have President Obama’s full size bust in the park.

The park and the decaying heads have become a fascination to thousands of people. The park has been visited by the Travel Channel, National Geographic, and a couple movies have used it for their backdrop. If oddities and unusual things are in your interest, check with the upcoming schedules of tours and hope it is not sold out. If it is, you will have to look Through the Lens to see the abandoned heads of the Presidents.