Assateague Whispering Giant (Ocean City)

Ocean City, Maryland, United States

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Public art

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Current

Listed, not yet checked · Oct 2026

This Big Thing is recorded as still being here.

A 20-foot oak carving by Peter Wolf Toth stands at the Ocean City Inlet in Maryland, part of his Trail of the Whispering Giants. Created in 1976 from 100-year-old oak, it depicts a member of the Assateague tribe and turned 50 in 2026.

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Assateague Whispering Giant (Ocean City)

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38.32553° N, 75.08909° W

FIELD GUIDE

The story

A 20-foot oak figure looks out over the Ocean City Inlet, and has done since 1976. Locals call him the Inlet Indian; the carver, Peter Wolf Toth, named him Nanticoke, and he is the Maryland piece in Toth's Trail of the Whispering Giants.

OceanCity.com says Toth was born in Hungary and fled with his family to the United States in 1956. According to the site, he decided in the early 1970s to carve a sculpture honouring Native Americans for each of the 50 states, working for no fee and giving the carvings as gifts. It describes the Ocean City figure as the 21st in the series, 20 feet high, carved from 100-year-old oak and created in 1976. The series reached number 58 in Haleiwa, Hawaii, in May 1988, and some states have more than one.

OceanCity.com says the carving depicts a member of the Assateague tribe, a former tribe of the Nanticoke people. WMDT, reporting on the sculpture's 50th year in June 2026, described the Trail of Whispering Giants as an act to honour Native American history across North America and said the Maryland statue represents a member of the Assateague tribe.

Weather has taken a toll on the wood. OceanCity.com says Toth returned to restore the carving in 2006 and that storms since, including Hurricane Sandy, caused further damage; in 2017 it reported the town had yet to address the need for more restoration. The Assateague Coastal Trust wrote in May 2022 that the statue was newly renovated. WMDT said in 2026 that it has been restored over the years but is still carved from the original oak.

It sits where the road bends into the Inlet lot, facing the bay, so drivers entering the lot get a good view of it, OceanCity.com says. One visitor told WMDT she wanted a photograph with it because she had photographs of her parents with it from the 1990s.

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PRACTICAL

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WHAT TO EXPECT

A weathered oak carving beside the Inlet lot, facing the bay, with the boardwalk and inlet nearby. WMDT reported in June 2026 that it had turned 50; OceanCity.com notes storm damage to the wood, especially at the back.

ACCESS

Outdoor public location at the Ocean City Inlet, seen from the Inlet lot and the boardwalk area. OceanCity.com says drivers entering the lot get a good view of the carving.

COMMUNITY

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White Marlin sculpture (Ocean City)

Ocean City, Maryland

A 14-foot stainless steel white marlin sculpture by Eastern Shore artist Paul Lockhart stands in Entry Park at the foot of the Route 50 bridge in Ocean City, Maryland. OceanCity.com reports it was installed in June 2002, with a water feature added in 2003, and funded by private donations.

Public art

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0.7 km away

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