Near the end of 2013, I noticed this sculpture standing on the edge of a limestone quarry just outside Fort Wayne, Indiana. It is a concrete replica of a Moai statue, the famous monumental sculptures built by the Rapa Nui, the Polynesian people of Easter Island in the South Pacific.

The quarry is the Hanson Limestone quarry whose entrance is on Ardmore Avenue. The statue is visible from Lower Huntington Road, just east of Smith Road. It is an out of the way rural place, not the kind of place one would normally install something like this. It is set back quite far from the road, so most drivers on Lower Huntington Road probably don't notice it.

I photographed it close to sunset.

5-27-14

Update: After I posted this photograph online, I got a message on Facebook telling me where to find an article on the mysterious statue. It was made by Robert Stark, the former publisher of The Waynedale News, using a mold made from an original. Mr. Stark died in December, 2021 at 71.

Mr. Stark wrote a series of five article for the Waynedale News telling the story of how the statue came to be.

Easter Island Statue Article: Part I

Easter Island Statue Article: Part II

Easter Island Statue Article: Part III

Easter Island Statue Article: Part IV

Easter Island Statue Article: Part V

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by Christopher Crawford

All of my prints are available framed or unframed. I use black metal Neilsen & Bainbridge frames with white cotton unbuffered museum board for the mat and backing board for maximum archival protection. Photographs are printed on an Epson pigment printer using Epson's archival ultrachrome inset for long life.

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