About Old Ben and the Giant Sycamore Stump
Kokomo’s Highland Park pairs two oversized Indiana relics beneath neighboring shelters. Old Ben was born in 1902 and grew into a steer of almost unbelievable proportions. At his death in 1910 he weighed somewhere between 4,585 and 4,720 pounds, stood about 6.5 feet tall, and measured more than 16 feet from nose to tail.
Ben’s owners rejected offers from circus and sideshow operators, choosing instead to exhibit him at fairs themselves. After his accidental death, they had the animal preserved by a taxidermist. The enormous mounted steer now stands behind glass, decorated on occasion and permanently frozen as one of the most improbable park exhibits in the Midwest.
Beside him is the hollow base of a sycamore that once grew near Kokomo. The stump measures roughly 12 feet tall, 18 feet across, and more than 50 feet around. Estimates of its age vary, but its scale is undeniable. Both attractions are free to view during park hours, and their shared location makes this one of the most efficient giant-thing stops anywhere.