Robert Wadlow Shoe and Wayward Lincolnabilia

Plymouth, Michigan

Local historical museums can sometimes be the home of unexpected roadside-worthy treasures. The Plymouth Historical Museum harbors at least two: a size 37 shoe made for the World's Tallest Man, and an entire room of wayward Lincolnabilia, collected by a local doctor.

The shoe is one of several associated with human giant Robert Wadlow on view across the country, and they're always popular with visitors. Wadlow himself visited Plymouth in the 1930s to view this particular shoe, which had been made for him by a local shoe store -- so the story goes.

The Lincoln collection is more serious, but it does have some items of note: life-size dummies of the President and First Lady; a lock of hair supposedly taken from the President after his assassination; and a metallic bald, bearded head of Lincoln, made from a life mask, displayed on a pillow as if it had been decapitated by a guillotine. A large mural along one wall shows Abe extending his hand in greeting; visitors can pose as if they're shaking Lincoln's hand.