One of the most unique sights you can see in Virginia is the abandoned president heads. Located on private property these 20-foot-tall busts of nearly every president sit rotting away.
Originally part of Presidents Park in Williamsburg, Virginia the park closed in 2010 and the busts were purchased by a private individual and moved to his land.
You’ll notice many of the busts are broken including missing noses and concrete missing from their skulls from the decay.
Each bust weighs around 22,000 pounds it took a week to move them to the field they are located in now which is in Croaker, Virginia. Just bear in mind this is private property and the owner doesn’t want random people showing up to visit the heads on their own.
How Can You See the President Heads?
Currently the best way to see the President head ruins is doing a tour with John Plashal. The owner of the property has given John free rein to bring guests onto the property to photograph the heads.
I highly enjoyed John Plashal’s photography tour at night which included light painting and plenty of time around the heads. He also offers tours during the day that aren’t geared toward photography.
One of my favorite parts about the night photography tour with John Plashal was the light painting. He brought in a few people to do steel wool spinning, LED light painting, and even drone light painting.
Here’s a short video from my night at the president heads:
Abandoned Presidents Heads Pictures
Here are photos from my visits to the giant Presidents heads in Virginia. Including during the day and a night tour. If you’re planning a visit I’d recommend brining a zoom lens (24-70mm) and a drone if you have one. The abandoned presidents heads look stunning from above as well with a drone.
I hope you enjoyed my visit to the abandoned President’s heads in Virginia. It’s a unique place I recommend anyone in the area check out.
If you’d like to see the heads yourself I highly recommend signing up for a tour by John Plashal.
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These are so neat. I hope the owner will make an effort to save them. It’s sad to see the holes in the busts/statues…what a neat school history trip this would be.
I would love to tour the ores heads I’m in Pennsylvania please send me schedules of yours either my e mail or home address
loved this. So sad this beautiful art is just deteriorating.Amazing sculptures. I would like more info on touring this area
Hey Barbara, I recommend seeing the tour list on John Plashal’s site https://www.johnplashalphoto.com/
I believe a new system for viewing the area is coming out in the coming months as well since the land is changing ownership.
Could you send a map of the place with info about days / operational times that the tours are done to see the Presidents display in the field. Resspectfully: Lisa Brugos.
Hey Lisa, I don’t have that information, I recommend seeing tour lists on John Plashal’s site: https://www.johnplashalphoto.com/