Presidents Heads (relocated from Williamsburg)

Croaker, Virginia, United States

Public art

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Listed, not yet checked · Oct 2026

This Big Thing is recorded as still being here.

Forty-two concrete-and-steel presidential busts by Houston sculptor David Adickes stand in rows on private land in Croaker, Virginia, about ten miles from Williamsburg. Made for Presidents Park (2004 to 2010), they decay outdoors and are seen on periodic paid guided tours.

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Presidents Heads (relocated from Williamsburg)

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Approximate location · 37.377° N, 76.753° W

FIELD GUIDE

The story

Forty-two giant presidential heads stand in rows in a Virginia field, cracked and weathering, and people travel long distances to see them. The concrete busts were made by Houston sculptor David Adickes for Presidents Park, an open-air attraction near Williamsburg. According to Smithsonian magazine in 2016, it opened in 2004, cost about $10 million and closed in 2010 for lack of visitors; Adickes was inspired by Mount Rushmore. Smithsonian gives the busts as 18 to 20 feet tall and between 11,000 and 20,000 pounds; Business Insider in 2026 gives 15 to 20 feet and over 20,000 pounds.

When the park closed, a contractor was asked to destroy the heads. He moved them instead to his own land at Croaker, ten miles away in Smithsonian's account and 11 in Roadtrippers' (2023). Smithsonian puts the week-long move at about $50,000 and says lifting by crane cracked necks. It reports a hole in the back of Abraham Lincoln's head and a lightning scar on Ronald Reagan's bust.

Smithsonian counted 43 heads; later coverage counts 42, which Roadtrippers says stand for 43 presidencies because Grover Cleveland served two non-consecutive terms.

The field was not open to visitors in 2016, when Smithsonian reported that the owner turned away requests. Since 2019, according to Roadtrippers, a Richmond photographer has run guided tours a few times a year, and Business Insider in 2026 says paid day and night tours are still offered periodically, with waivers signed beforehand. In 2025 WTKR reported a plan to restore some of the busts for a new attraction, the President's Walk, subject to county zoning. Business Insider says the James City County board voted 3 to 2 in June to take no action on a rezoning project and planned to revisit it in the autumn.

The heads are on private land, and Business Insider reported in 2026 that tours are offered periodically.

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PRACTICAL

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WHAT TO EXPECT

The busts stand outdoors in rows on private land, weathered and in places broken. Business Insider reported in 2026 that paid day and night guided tours are offered periodically, and that guests sign a waiver before entering.

ACCESS

Private land at Croaker, about ten miles from Williamsburg. Business Insider reported in 2026 that paid guided tours are offered periodically; there is no walk-in access reported.

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