Ten-Ton Hog Head
Fayetteville, Arkansas
The ten-ton hog head was carved out of a limestone boulder by Orville Roosevelt Skaggs (1909-1998), a retired coal miner and lumberyard worker. He was encouraged by his son-in-law, Elbert Baker, who wanted a sculpture of the University of Arkansas' razorback hog mascot for the its Experimental Strawberry Substation in Searcy, where Elbert was the director. Orville spent four years carving the tusked hog -- and a football to sit in front of it -- and the completed sculptures were moved to the substation's front lawn in 1980.
The substation eventually closed, Orville died, and Elbert donated the hog head and football to the University. They were hauled by truck over 200 miles to the main campus in Fayetteville and placed in a small garden behind the alumni center. The hog is a popular photo-op, but time has weathered its soft limestone considerably, as have years of people using its spiky razorback as steps to climb to the top and sit on the head.