Some stories never die. Some need to be buried again and dug up to be appreciated. That's exactly what is happening on Oct. 16 when Central New York artist
Ty Marshal recreates the Cardiff Giant sensation from 1869.
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| 1869 exhumation. Photo by Calvin O. Gott |
The
Cardiff Giant hoax - often referred to as the greatest in American history - was the brainchild of New York businessman and atheist George Hull, who hired workers to carve a 10-foot-tall "petrified man" out of a block of gypsum after he had an argument with a Methodist reverend about the chapter in Genesis 6:4 that states "giants once roamed the earth." He then arranged for it to be buried in Cardiff, just south of Syracuse, dug up a year later and “found,” leading thousands of people to believe it was the petrified remains of an ancient giant man.
It so captured the nation's attention that
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz author L. Frank Baum and
Mark Twain wrote about it. Later, a syndicate of Syracuse businessmen purchased the Giant for $23,000 and moved it to Syracuse for display, upping the price to $1.00 per view.
Fast forward 142 years to Central New York artist Ty Marshal. Marhsal is creating a replica of the famous Cardiff Giant with plans to bury it in Syracuse’s Lipe Art Park on West Fayette Street - only to dig it up again on Oct. 16, the anniversary of the original Giant discovery.
