World’s Largest Hiawatha Statue: Ironwood, Michigan
Here's a Michigan roadside stop that's wayyy up & over in one of Michigan's farthest regions. It's been tagged as "The World's Tallest & Largest Indian" and is found in Ironwood.
This 52-foot tall statue of Hiawatha is found in Ironwood's Hiawatha Park, in a triangular section that's bordered by Beech Street, Burma Road and E. Houk Street.
The statue - weighing nine tons (18,000 pounds) - was brought in from Minneapolis and erected in Ironwood in 1964. It was built by Gordon Displays in St. Paul, Minnesota, and paid for by an Ironwood car dealer. In June 1964 Hiawatha was transported to Ironwood, with the location intended to bring visitors and tourists to the downtown business section. Hiawatha weighs nine tons and can withstand winds up to 140mph.
The statue sits atop of what was once the site of caves & tunnels of Ironwood's old iron mine, "Old Norrie."
The "World's Tallest"? I'm afraid not anymore.....there's a taller but not-as-handsome statue in Skowhegan, Maine that is ten feet taller. Even so, Hiawatha is MUCH more attractive and is lovingly restored from time-to-time, so he'll be around for many years to come.
It's a great little photo op if you have the stamina to drive way over to Ironwood sometime...like on your next roadtrip through Michigan's U.P. Check it out!
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