BROOKSVILLE, Fla. – Drivers heading along the backroads in Hernando County might spot this strange figure on the side of the road.
It’s a large, headless sculpture of a brontosaurus, with its interior exposed to the elements.
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It can be found along Lake Lindsey Road near U.S. Highway 41, though there are no signs or markers nearby to indicate why such a large decoration is just sitting out in the open like this.
However, Nature Coaster explains that the sculpture stems back to 1966, which is when artist August Herwede began its construction.
Herwede was reportedly inspired to build the dinosaur thanks to the Dinoland exhibit at the 1964 New York World’s Fair, and he set out to create a statue to scale with the prehistoric brontosaurus — meaning it would have stretched around 60 feet long and over 30 feet tall.
According to Nature Coaster, Herwede crafted the beast with a wooden frame and wire-reinforced concrete shell.
“It would be hollow, with access to the inside from a hole in the beast’s belly,” the website reads. “He dug a pit to be its swamp home at the curve on State Road 476 and began construction.”
But disaster struck in 1967 while Herwede was building the statue. He fell from the creature’s shoulders, ultimately breaking his neck and dying.
Herwede was buried in the nearby Lake Lindsay Cemetery, and many of the other small sculptures on his property were sold off. However, his family left the brontosaurus as-is to commemorate Herwede.
That’s not where the story ends, though.
Nowadays, the dinosaur is owned by Steve Eaton, who lives just up the hill on his 5-acre property.
Per Nature Coaster, Eaton’s brother — Kevin Eaton — regularly decks out the statue for the holidays, putting up garlands, lights, and other festive decorations.
“For fifty years, this dinosaur sat untouched,” he told Nature Coaster. “I thought something should be done with it. It would be nice if someone would finish the front half — if they know how to do that — but I decided to decorate it.”
The statue is reportedly equipped with a security camera, too, helping to safeguard the strange attraction from vandals and looters.
But this dinosaur statue isn’t the only roadside oddity in Central Florida. Far from it.
There are plenty of fascinating highway attractions in this stretch of the Sunshine State, from a giant “Moonman,” to an abandoned ark, and even one of the most haunted roadways in the country.
To read up on those places and much more, head to News 6′s “Florida Fables” page by clicking here.
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