What Is That?!: The Crownsville Giant By Judy Colbert
Ever wonder, “what is that?!” when you drive by the Anne Arundel County Fairgrounds and see the giant figure on the hill? Well, his name is Uncle Harve, and this is his story. Harve is the 20 foot steel and molded fiberglass lumberjack, also known as the Crownsville Giant, and he began his life traveling to county fairs representing the Lombard Chainsaw Company. According to Joel Baker of American Giants, a company that restores these types of statues (often called “Muffler Men”), the statues are 18- to 25-foot advertising giants that were popular in the 1960s and are becoming popular again. In 1977, Frank Baldwin, owner of a farm and garden supply company at the intersection of Route 50 and Generals Highway, purchased the lumberjack. Baldwin was the one to give him the name “Uncle Harve” after the agricultural manufacturing company International Harvester. Harve stood guard atop the Baldwin Service Center for almost 15 years. The service center closed in 1991, after a 22-year run in that location, and cleared their lot to make way for Toys R Us (also now closed). Harve needed a new home, and the Baldwin family donated him to the fairgrounds. In 1991, the statue moved to his new home. Over the years, this retired lumberjack has had many names: The Crownsville Giant, Uncle Harve, the Muffler Man, and the Fair Giant. Whatever you want to call him, give a little wave next time you see him at Anne Arundel County Fairgrounds. Anne Arundel County Fairgrounds | 1450 Generals Hwy, Crownsville, MD
Image courtesy of Judy Colbert
16 | THE MOTHERLODE
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