Elkton, Kentucky: Muffler Man - Bunyan
Formerly at a Chicago auto shop and tavern -- where he lost his feet -- and then a Wisconsin campground. Moved to Kentucky, completely restored and re-footed in 2020. Now hoists his ax outside a lumber yard.
Cumberland Ridge Forest Products
- Address:
- 1300 Old Railroad Lane, Elkton, KY
- Directions:
- Cumberland Ridge Forest Products. From Elkton drive south on Main St./KY-181 for three miles. At KY-181 milepost 9 turn east onto Chestnut Rd. Drive a half-mile. At the four-way stop turn right onto Old Railroad Lane. Drive a half-mile. You'll see Paul ahead on the right.
- RA Rates:
- Worth a Detour
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This Paul Bunyan Muffler Man is located at Cumberland Ridge Forest Products in Guthrie. Paul was restored by American Giants in 2020.
[Tim Thompson, 02/13/2021]
After three years in storage and one year in restoration, the former Clinton Campground Bunyan has been fully restored and set up in Elkton, Kentucky, at Cumberland Ridge Forest Products. The Muffler Man originated in Chicago, and by the late 1980s stood at a tavern in Schiller Park. He stood out front, strapped to the building, and was already missing his feet by that point. Lettering on his chest read, "Complaint Manager."
The Muffler Man was obtained for free in the mid-1990s and moved to a Clinton, Wisconsin, campground where he stood/fell until American Giants obtained it in 2016 for restoration.
[American Giants, 10/21/2020]
We saw this being towed down Highway 39 as we came back from the Wisconsin Dells on 07/23/16. It seemed to be in pieces on the trailer.
[Belkwinith, 07/29/2016]I was in Clinton earlier today. I searched East State Line Road for several miles near where my GPS said the Muffler Man should be and could not find it, or see any evidence of any business other than farms.
[ADalton, 06/19/2010]
Just got back from visiting the muffler man in Clinton, Wisconsin. I talked with a couple of the locals, and they gave me the following tidbits:
The owner of the campground also owned a business in Franklin Park, IL. where the muffler man was (This totally makes sense as Franklin Park is an industrial suburb of Chicago). They said around ten years ago he decided to move him to his campground. They said he put him on a trailer and removed his head for the trip.
As you can see from the pictures, he has lost his feet, needs a paint job (note the obvious two paint schemes on his pants) and has an incredible amount of fungus growing on his arms. The muffler man also has obvious remnants of the decapitation on his neck. (I think I saw this before in a Clint Eastwood western (Hang Em High?)).
The owner knew that his hands dictated that he was supposed to be holding something but did not know what so he made an axe for him (nothing like giving someone you just decapitated a 5 foot axe). This muffler man is extremely hard to find as he is way back in an obscure campground at the edge of the woods.
The locals obviously had no idea what he was or where he came from (they do now!).
[Rich Birley, 07/16/2001]Nearby Offbeat Places
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This Bunyan Muffler Man stood at a campground in Clinton since the 1990s (before that it was at a Chicago auto repair shop). It disappeared around 2010, still on the property but disassembled and left in the woods, footless, and at the mercy of the elements. You spotted him on the move to Illinois, where the American Giants team plans to attempt a complete restoration!