Original worlds largest garden gnome
The World’s Second/Third Largest Garden Gnome
Upstate New York is a random, magical, strange, and interesting place. As it turns out, Kerhonkson, New York is home to the world’s second largest garden gnome (we found this out when we drove 20 minutes in the wrong direction after leaving Mohonk House). His name is Chomsky. Chomsky sits on Kelder’s Farm. Honestly, I think someone should write a daily blog, one sentence max, from Chomsky’s perspective.
He is pretty cute. Also I really like garden gnomes – random, I know.
You may be asking yourself: Where is the world’s largest garden gnome? Well the largest in the US is on the campus of Iowa State. Seriously watch this video – there is a crane lifting the gnome. So it turns out Chomsky is the third largest gnome in the world because when the good folks in Iowa were building theirs, they discovered that someone in Poland has an 18 foot gnome. Eastern Europe for the win! But the folks in Poland built theirs out of fiberglass, so if we are talking concrete then Chomsky is still number two.
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Kerhonkson, New York: Gnome Chomsky: World's Third Largest Garden Gnome
Impractical to kidnap for a vacation joyride. Be satisfied straddling his pointy shoes. Now advertised as "The Original" World's Largest Garden Gnome, to distinguish him from two larger gnomes that have surpassed his size.
Kelder's Farm
Address:
5755 Route 209, Kerhonkson, NY
Directions:
On Kelder's Farm, which is between Kerhonkson and Accord. On the south side of US 209, about 1.5 miles east of Hwy 3/Samsonville Rd.
Hours:
Farm summer 10 am - 8 pm.
Admission:
Free self-guided tour; guided tour $8.00
RA Rates:
Worth a Detour
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Visitor Tips and News About Gnome Chomsky: World's Third Largest Garden Gnome
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Gnome Chomsky: World's Third Largest Garden Gnome
One of the best gnomes I have ever seen in my entire life.
[Alana, 11/27/2018]
Gnome Chomsky: World's Third Largest Garden Gnome
Gotta love a giant Gnome at a place you can get fresh produce, ice cream and even play miniature golf!
[Brian From Rockland County
Elwood
Elwood, “The World’s Largest Concrete Gnome,” was constructed as part of a Reiman Gardens theme called, “A Celebration of Garden Ornamentation,” in 2010. He was sculpted by Andy and Connie Kautza of National Rock and Sculpture, Inc. in Wausau, Wisconsin.
Reiman Gardens’ intention was to build the world’s largest gnome, but during the construction process it was revealed that there was a taller gnome in Poland, so Elwood simply became the world’s largest
concrete
gnome. The unveiling of Elwood on Earth Day, April 22, 2010, became a world news event with coverage by more than 70 local, national, and world news outlets. Elwood was officially dedicated on September 15, 2010.
Why the name Elwood?
The giant gnome became officially known as “Elwood” during an announcement in conjunction with the Ames Chamber of Commerce during a Brown Bag Lecture at Reiman Gardens.
The name Elwood was chosen because of its significant ties to both Reiman Gardens and Iowa State University. For the first 12 years of Reiman Gardens’ existence, its street address was known as Elwood Drive. In 2007, Iowa State University made the decision to change the street name from Elwood Drive t
(Formerly) The World’s Largest Garden Gnome – Kerhonkson, NY
by Chris Clemens
I’ve been accused of driving way out of my way to see things in my travels that the average person might not drive the same amount of distance for. And, to be fair, those accusations are correct. I typically will uncover some photo or story online and add it to my ‘New York Bucket List’ and then quietly obsess until I’ve gone to experience it in person. That was exactly the case with The World’s Largest Garden Gnome in Kerhonkson, New York. While on a trip
sort of
through the area, I meandered a wide reaching detour to go and find Kelder’s Farm, the home of the gnome.
That traveling gnome you see on those travel company commercials isn’t quite as old as he looks. Though gnomes have been around since the 16th century when the Swiss German occultist Paracelsus introduced the notion, Americans began sticking the mythological characters in their gardens just after World War II. Plastic gnomes started popping up in gardens all across the U.S. somewhere in the 1960’s and that’s when they took on the look of those seven du