It may not be as famous or as big as Stone Mountain, Mount Rushmore or the Easter Island sculptures, but Otis Shinn left his mark in Jackson County.
Where is this sculpture, you ask?
It is on Parchment Valley Road. When the foilage is off the trees, you can see the head from I-77. The six foot tall carving is approximately one mile north of the Fairplain exit.
Why did he carve this massive face on a rock cliff?
I don't know.
Does anyone out there have the answer to this question?
Otis also carved a bust of President Thomas Jefferson in 1932. It sat on a pedestal in the front yard of the old Shinn home place. it was eventually sold to an antique dealer.
A carved lion, almost life size, also sat on a pedestal in the front yard. It is gone now, too.
Go on a drive this fall and see the large sculpture. The majestic face still watches the cars as they whiz by. Tell everyone you saw Jackson County's version of Stone Mountain.
Otis Shinn died in 1962 at the age of 63, but his legacy lives on in the chiseled stone face on Parchment Valley Road.
