Wooden Grover Cleveland (Gone)

Buffalo, New York

Eight feet tall and blocky (the way trees carved into people often are), the Wooden Statue of Grover Cleveland is well-suited to the blocky physique of the former President. Although born in New Jersey, Cleveland rose to fame as the Mayor of Buffalo and Sheriff of Erie County. His job as Sheriff made barrel-chested Cleveland the only future President who was also a hangman, executing one murderer in 1872 and another in 1873.

That factoid wasn't mentioned in the plaque screwed to Cleveland's wooden statue, but it did state that he "became notable for his single-minded concentration upon whatever task faced him."

Wooden Cleveland was carved with a chainsaw by Rick Pratt from a tree damaged in the surprise snowstorm of October 2006 (a storm that also yielded a statue of the Inventor of Buffalo Wings).

The statue's dedication in April 2010 was attended by a delegation from Honolulu, which placed a lei around Cleveland's neck to honor his unsuccessful attempt to reinstate Hawaii's monarchy, which had been overthrown by American businessmen.

Buffalo's notorious weather has taken a toll on the wooden statue. By 2016 its plaque had fallen off, and mushrooms were sprouting from the head and broad shoulders of the former President.