Skip to Main Content

Pioneer Mom.

Pioneer Mom with Scary Child

Field review by the editors.

Frackville, Pennsylvania

The 15-foot-tall Pioneer Mom, or "Pie Woman," is an unusual rendition of frontier feminity. A somewhat masculine-looking lady in a bonnet holds a pie and gazes blankly towards the highway. The girl child clutching the woman's dress is even more peculiar, with the face of a 40-year old man, dragging a decapitated doll across the statue platform.

Roadside rumor has it that the statues were built in the 1960s by Rodman Shutt (who made other memorable statues), and originally stood at the Pot-O-Gold Diner in Hamburg, Pennsylvania. After that establishment closed the statue moved to Frackville, and stood outside of Granny's Motel beginning in 1986.

A 2008 repainting in brighter colors reminded us at the time of M. Night Shyamalan's The Village, and then drew comparisons to The Handmaid's Tale.

Granny's was bought by a budget motel chain in early 2022, which wanted to bulldoze the statue. Instead, it was bought by the local Anczarski family, which hauled Mom and Child to an empty lot next to their downtown Frackville thrift store. The Anczarskis repainted Granny and the child in April 2023, but left the doll in her original colors. It is hoped that the statue will find a permanent new home somewhere nearby.

Pioneer Mom with Scary Child

Address:
1 S. Lehigh Ave., Frackville, PA
Directions:
Downtown, on the east side of S. Lehigh Ave., just south of its intersection with E. Frack St. On its back in an empty lot.
RA Rates:
Worth a Detour
Save to My Sights

Nearby Offbeat Places

Big Mine Run GeyserBig Mine Run Geyser, Ashland, PA - 5 mi.
Whistler's Mother StatueWhistler's Mother Statue, Ashland, PA - 6 mi.
Tribute to Coal MinersTribute to Coal Miners, Minersville, PA - 7 mi.
In the region:
World's Largest Bobblehead, Paxtonia, PA - 43 mi.

More Quirky Attractions in Pennsylvania

Stories, reports and tips on tourist attractions and odd sights in Pennsylvania.

Explore Thousands of Unique Roadside Landmarks!

Strange and amusing destinations in the US and Canada are our specialty. Start here.
Use RoadsideAmerica.com's Attraction Maps to plan your next road trip.

My Sights

My Sights on Roadside America

Create Your Own Bizarre Road Trips! ...Try My Sights

Mobile Apps

Roadside America app: iPhone, iPad Roadside America app for iPhone, iPad. On-route maps, 1,000s of photos, special research targets! ...More

Roadside Presidents app: iPhone, iPad Roadside Presidents app for iPhone, iPad. POTUS landmarks, oddities. ...More

Pennsylvania Latest Tips and Stories

Latest Visitor Tips

Sight of the Week

Sight of the Week

JFK's World Famous Twine Ball, Highland, Wisconsin (Mar 18-24, 2024)

SotW Archive

USA and Canada Tips and Stories

More Sightings