If you should find yourself in the vicinity of Taughannock Falls, this historical replica of the Taughannock Giant is just 3 miles away and worth a quick stop. This is a unique, fun, and free roadside attraction. The Taughannock Giant was an elaborate hoax that was successful in its attempt to bring tourists to the area.
The History of The Taughannock Giant
In the summer of 1879, while workmen were widening the roads near the Taughannock Falls overlook, they hit something hard. What they thought was a rock turned out to be a 7-foot petrified giant buried in the ground. Dubbed the Taughannock Giant, it would bring throngs of people to the area to view this unique discovery.
An Ingenious Hoax
As it would turn out, the Taughannock Giant was actually an elaborate hoax, so carefully executed that it not only hoodwinked the general public, it fooled scientists at nearby Cornell University.
The plan was concocted by a group of clever conspirators inspired by the Cardiff Giant in order to bring tourists to the area. The Giant was made up of eggs, iron filling, cow blood, and a plaster cement concoction, a composition that, when studied, would emulate the remains of a human being. It was enough to fool the Cornell Scientists when they collected a sample for study.
They were even clever enough to dig a horizontal tunnel under the road and wrap the nearby root of a tree around the Giant so that when he was discovered, the topsoil would be undisturbed and give more legitimacy to the discovery.
They might have gotten away with the cunning scheme if one of the conspirators hadn’t got drunk and spilled the beans. Ironically, this created even more interest in the Taughannock Giant, and tourists flocked to the site again to see the elaborate hoax.
The original Taughannck Giant was broken accidentally when it was being moved and was buried in an undisclosed location.
Visiting the Replica
The replica was commissioned by the Thompkins County History Center in 2019 to commemorate a part of the town’s history. For some time, the replica of the Giant welcomed visitors to the Trumansburg Village Hall. A few years back, the Taughannock Giant was moved to a small protective pavilion in a little green area off Route 96.
The Taughannock Giant is on display in this small park and can be seen at any time. This is a unique destination for those who are interested in finding off-the-beaten-track roadside attractions.
Getting to the Taughannock Giant Park
The small park is located on Route 96 in the village of Trumansburg (across the street from the Trumansburg Farmers Market)