Ohio's Biggest Bigfoot (Nelson)

Celina, Ohio, United States

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Listed, not yet checked · Oct 2026

This Big Thing is recorded as still being here.

Nelson is a wooden Sasquatch sculpture at the Main Gate of the Mercer County Fairgrounds in Celina, Ohio. Bear Hollow Wood Carvers of French Lick, Indiana, carved it on site in April 2024 during the eclipse festival. The fair gives its height as 27 feet; the Daily Standard gave 30.

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Ohio's Biggest Bigfoot (Nelson)

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Site-level location · 40.5494° N, 84.5833° W

FIELD GUIDE

The story

Nelson, a giant wooden Sasquatch, stands at the Main Gate of the Mercer County Fairgrounds in Celina, Ohio, and was carved on the spot over a single festival weekend.

Bear Hollow Wood Carvers of French Lick, Indiana, made the sculpture from 5 to 8 April 2024, during the total solar eclipse festival at the fairgrounds. According to the Daily Standard in June 2024, the fair board and the carvers had been planning the project since July 2023. The head, which the fair puts at 600 to 700 pounds, was carved separately and hoisted to the top. A tractor and plow are built into the figure; the fair says they were included because of Mercer County's strong agricultural background.

The size is quoted two ways. The fair gives 18 feet across the shoulders and 27 feet tall, with a foot 7 feet long, and says about 5,000 board feet of poplar went into it. The Daily Standard called it 30 feet tall and 18 feet wide, and reported the fair manager saying it grew larger than expected once the carvers arrived. A Celina tree-service company donated part of the lumber.

The name came from a Facebook poll of community members, in which Nelson beat Chip, Winston, Ollie, Glen, Theo and Hugh. In June 2024 the paper reported that a sidewalk and wooden fence had been added, with a contribution from the Celina Moose, so that visitors can walk around the figure without climbing on it. The fair manager told the paper, "We also hope that it is a fun thing for folks to travel to see", and the paper reported visitors from Terre Haute, Indiana, and Michigan.

The fair's website says Nelson can be viewed at any hour, free of charge, and that the fair itself is held in August.

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PRACTICAL

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WHAT TO EXPECT

The fair's website says Nelson can be viewed 24 hours a day at no charge. Visitors can walk around the figure along a sidewalk, behind a wooden fence that keeps people from climbing it. Nelson stands inside the fairgrounds at the Main Gate; during fair week and events, expect crowds and check the fair's site for any entry arrangements.

ACCESS

At the Main Gate of the Mercer County Fairgrounds, 1001 West Market Street, Celina. The fair's website describes the viewing spot as open all day and accessible to everyone. The fair is held in August.

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Current

World's Largest Loaf of Bread sculpture

Urbana, Ohio

A 33-foot-long bread loaf sculpture stands near the entrance to Bundy Baking Solutions at 417 East Water Street, Urbana, Ohio. The company says it began around 1970 as a sign for a bakery in Montgomery, Alabama, and was restored in 2016.

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86 km away

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