The 'giants' at Farnham's Fantasy Farm in Morgan County welcome travelers to West Virginia

By Vanta Coda III, RealWV

As you cross the border into West Virginia, towering above the trees in Morgan County on Winchester Grade Road, stand four fiberglass giants marking the Farnham property where George and Pam Farnham live. Their home features 20 fiberglass giants and figurines, and one roller coaster scattered across the property, which is known locally as The Farnham Colossi or Farnham’s Fantasy Farm.

“I started putting the collection together about twenty years ago. The muffler man was the first one, since then I’ve added to it,” said Farnham. “The display presently is probably one of the largest collections of fiberglass statues on private property in the country.”

***The first fiberglass statue that Farnham bought, the original King Midas Muffler Man, stands as the main centerpiece next to three other fiberglass colossi when pulling into the property.***

Farnham, who has been in the antiques and collectibles business for over 40 years, reports that the giant fiberglass figures were produced in the mid to late 20th century. These figures were commonly used in a range of different businesses, serving as a form of advertisement.

“Every year, we have about a thousand people come by to look at the statues,” said Farnham. “Typically, on nice weekends, there could be five to ten cars that day with people coming by to see the statues.”

***A fiberglass bluejay figurine, once greeting travelers at Baltimore/Washington International Airport, now stands in front of Farnham’s purple barn.***

Even the famous Travelocity Roaming Gnome has taken photos with the Farnham Collesi during its tour of West Virginia in 2016.

Farnham highlights his ability to accommodate these fiberglass giants on his property due to the lack of zoning laws affecting nearly all counties in West Virginia.

“West Virginia is one of the few states that doesn’t have zoning,” said Farnham. “Over 90% of the people in the country live where there’s zoning, and that prohibits most people from having statues like these on their property.”

***A fiberglass colossus of Santa Claus lies next to Farnham’s purple barn.***

There are only a handful of counties in West Virginia where zoning ordinances are enacted either county-wide or within specific areas. With the ability to put up these fiberglass titans for the world to see, the Farnhams put a sense of wonder into anybody who passes by as they enter our state.