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Cardiff in Onondaga County, New York — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
 

The Cardiff Giant

 
 
The Cardiff Giant Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed by Nancy Mueller, February 3, 2011
1. The Cardiff Giant Marker
Inscription.
Discovered here
October 16, 1869.
It was proved a hoax,
one of the greatest public
deceptions in American history.

 
Erected 1976 by LaFayette Bicentennial Committee.
 
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Anthropology & ArchaeologyScience & Medicine. A significant historical month for this entry is October 1869.
 
Location. 42° 53.033′ N, 76° 9.339′ W. Marker is in Cardiff, New York, in Onondaga County. It is on Tully Farms Road (County Road 234) 0.1 miles north of Webster Road, on the right when traveling south. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: La Fayette NY 13084, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Upstate New York, specifically in Central New York, and in the Syracuse Metropolitan Area. It is also in the American Northeast, on the Great Lakes, and in the Mid-Atlantic. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region, North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy, New Netherland, and one of the original Thirteen Colonies.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 4 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: A different marker also named Cardiff Giant (approx. 0.7 miles away); Jeremiah Jackson (approx. 2.4 miles away); LaFayette World War II Memorial (approx. 2.4 miles away); Historic Church (approx. 2.6 miles away); Hillsdale Cemetery (approx. 2.6 miles away); Wllis Webster Munson (approx. 3½ miles away); Otisco Veterans Memorial (approx. 3½ miles away); Former Grange Hall (approx. 3½ miles away).
 
Also see . . .
1. Cardiff Giant. Wikipedia (Submitted on February 3, 2011, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia.)
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2. The Farmer's Museum, Cooperstown, NY. The Cardiff Giant is now on display at the Farmer's Museum in Cooperstown, NY. (Submitted on February 3, 2011, by Nancy Mueller of LaFayette, New York.) 

3. Cardiff Giant rises again in Syracuse. The so-called scared man was uncovered in upstate New York in 1869. Due to its 10-foot-4-inch prominence, the figure became known as the Cardiff Giant. The "Giant" became a media beloved, even after it was revealed to be a scam. An artist in New York has rebuilt the model and promises to recreate the situation and be the mastermind as the "Cardiff Giant rises again in Syracuse".

Syracuse-based artist Ty Marshal has recreated the Cardiff Giant to exacting specifications out of Hypertufa, a mix of cement and peat moss, for an event entitled “There’s a Sucker Born Every Minute: Re-creating the Cardiff Giant.” And now Marshal and his team continue a proud tradition by drawing yet more crowds to see the Cardiff Giant. (Submitted on October 30, 2011, by James Reiz of Los Angeles, California.) 
 
Additional keywords. P.T. Barnum, David Hannum
 
The Cardiff Giant Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed by Nancy Mueller, February 4, 2011
2. The Cardiff Giant Marker
The Cardiff Giant Marker looking south on Tully Farms Road just north of the intersection with Webster Road.
The Cardiff Giant Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed by Nancy Mueller, February 4, 2011
3. The Cardiff Giant Marker
The Cardiff Giant Marker from Tully Farms Road looking south.
The Cardiff Giant image. Click for full size.
Photographed by Bain News Service, circa 1915
4. The Cardiff Giant
Library of Congress [LC-B2- 2781-13]
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on June 16, 2016. It was originally submitted on February 3, 2011, by Nancy Mueller of LaFayette, New York. This page has been viewed 2,330 times since then and 83 times this year. Photos:   1. submitted on February 3, 2011, by Nancy Mueller of LaFayette, New York.   2, 3. submitted on February 4, 2011, by Nancy Mueller of LaFayette, New York.   4. submitted on February 3, 2011, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.
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Jul. 2, 2026