Galesville, Wisconsin: Garden of Eden Guy, Rev. Van Slyke Statue

The reverend's 1886 analysis of Galesville's flora, fauna, and terrain proved it was the place described in the Bible's Book of Genesis. Garden of Eden Guy is remembered with a bronze likeness holding the Good Book and a piece of forbidden fruit.

Address:: Mill Rd., Galesville, WI
Directions:: Between Main St. and Mill Rd. at Gibson St. near the post office.

Results 1 to 2 of 2...

Visitor Tips and News About Garden of Eden Guy, Rev. Van Slyke Statue

Reports and tips from RoadsideAmerica.com visitors and Roadside America mobile tipsters. Some tips may not be verified. Submit your own tip.

Rev. Van Slyke Statue.

Garden of Eden Guy, Rev. Van Slyke Statue

Near the Rev. Slyke statue there is a swinging bridge leading to a trail with a cave and other sights. Unfortunately, it was raining when we visited.

[Fran Cohn, 05/04/2016]

The bronze sculpted by Elmer P. Petersen is titled "A Visionary." Reverend Van Slyke offers an apple from the Garden of Eden, which -- according to his 19th century bible studies -- was located in Galesville.

Garden of Eden Guy, Reverend Van Slyke Statue

A relatively recent statue of the oddball 19th-century Reverend David Van Slyke, who wrote a pamphlet proving that Galesville was the location of the Garden of Eden. As I recall, it is pretty close to the center of town. The nice thing about the bronze statue is that it makes the reverend seem both noble and insane at the same time. A reproduction of the pamphlet is available locally -- at the newspaper office, I believe.

[Jon Spayde, 08/24/2011]

In the 1880s, after studying the local terrain and holy scripture, Rev. Van Slyke decided the Bible was describing Galesville in the Book of Genesis. The statue shows Van Slyke holding a forbidden apple and a Holy Bible.