President heads in Virginia is an abandoned park with dozens of 20-foot-tall busts of U.S. president, located in Williamsburg, Virginia.
The Presidential busts originated in the President’s Park, an outdoor museum on the outskirts of Williamsburg, VA, featuring the busts of 43 of our former Presidents. The statues were sculpted by Houston artist David Adickes, who was inspired after driving past Mount Rushmore on a trip back from Canada. Presidents Heads Park was built for $10 million by Everette “Haley” Newman in 2004 so visitors could walk among tall busts of the presidents while learning more about them.
Although the park was a grand idea it was dated and could not survive in its former location. It needed to be seen by tourists, but tucked away in the woods the park was invisible, which was ironic considering the size and glory of these busts.
the park went bankrupt in 2010 a man named Howard Hankins, who helped build the park, volunteered to move the president heads to his property. With each bust weighing 22,000 pounds, it took nearly a week to move them all just a few miles to the large field where they now sit.
The abandoned heads are situated down a long private driveway behind Hankins’ construction company buildings. As of 2022, the busts continue their quiet deterioration. One of the more eerie busts is that of Abraham Lincoln. Not only does it have a hole on top of the head, but the back is also missing.
There were plans to raise money to relocate the statues to a place where they can be visited by all. Abandoned President Heads in Williamsburg all now sit decaying in three neat lines on the farm, where they continue to crumble, peel and crack, left to withstand the harsh, sometimes brutal weather.
