Photos: World’s Largest Horseshoe Crab Sculpture: world record in Hillsboro, Ohio
(1-2): Facebook/World's Largest Horseshoe Crab
(3-4) Ohio Outdoor Sculpture

(5) Cincinnati Weekend Adventures

"This gigantic horseshoe crab has migrated from a harbor in Baltimore, Maryland, to dry land in Ohio. This massive piece of art has had four homes over the last 25 years. The first was in Baltimore, the second in a creationist museum in Kentucky, the third outside a church in Blanchester, Ohio, and now in Hillsboro," the Atlas Obscura reports.

"Known affectionately as “Crabbie,” the fiberglass arthropod measures 67 feet long, 28 feet wide, and 12 feet high (with an even longer tail that sticks up behind the structure). It was built in 1995 for an attraction in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor. The structure is open on the inside, with room for dozens of people, and it was initially used as a space for teaching about the Chesapeake Bay’s marine life at the Columbus Center. Videos of sharks hunting were shown inside the huge shell.

"In 2015, the church put Crabbie up for sale. It was purchased by a family in Hillsboro, Ohio, who moved it to their property and set it up as a roadside attraction, where it remains to this day."

"The World’s Largest Horseshoe Crab started its life at the Freedom Worship Baptist Church in Blanchester, Ohio, the Silly America says.

"In 2015 the crab was put up for sale and local Ben Sexton bought it, hacked it apart, and reassembled it in a new spot 25 miles away.

"The giant crab, nicknamed Crabby, is 68 feet long and 28-feet wide and can now be found next to Highway 124 in Hillsboro."

"According to Pastor Jim, the big crab was originally built in 1995 for a Baltimore nautical attraction -- The Columbus Center -- that went bankrupt (A multimedia presentation on sharks was shown inside its shell)," the Roadside America reports.

"Crabbie was then bought by the Answers in Genesis Creation Museum in Kentucky, but it proved to be too big even for their oversized sense of theater. By luck or mysterious-ways intervention, Pastor Jim was giving a talk at the museum, learned about the crab, and accepted it as a donation to his church.

"In early 2015 the crab was put up for sale, its Creationist ministry apparently complete. Crabbie was purchased by Ben and Darlene Sexton, who'd admired it for years and wanted to preserve it as a roadside attraction. Ben cut it apart with a chainsaw, moved it 25 miles east to Hillsboro, and reassembled it next to Highway 124. It has proved so popular in its new spot that Ben hopes to build a roadside pullout to accommodate all the parked cars."

"The manmade crab, measuring 67 feet long, 28 feet wide and 12 feet high – not counting the tail that extends higher – is the brainchild of Ben and Darlene Sexton, who own a sporstmen’s lodge on the property where the creature now rests.

"The crab has created such a stir, Sexton said, that he’s working with the Ohio Department of Transportation to create a pull-off area along SR 124 so people can stop and check it out. He said some people have asked about using it for graduation or birthdays parties," The Times-Gazette reports.

"Sexton plans to close open areas under the crab in, install a floor, and decorate the inside in some intriguing fashion. Then he’ll worry about exactly how to use it."

"Crabbie, The World’s Largest Horseshoe Crab, is an iconic Ohio attraction transported from Baltimore, Maryland, with a story befitting his giant stature," the Only In Your State reports.

"After his stint in Baltimore, Crabbie was transported to a creationist museum in Kentucky, then a church in Blanchester, Ohio (pictured here), and now resides in Hillsboro, Ohio.

"Today, Crabbie is located off Highway 124 in Hillsboro, Ohio, and is both free to visit and 100% worth the detour."

"This sculpture of a horseshoe crab, made from fiberglass and foam, measures 67 feet long (not including the tail), the Ohio Outdoor Sculpture says" .

"It had several previous locations before being installed roadside in Hillsboro in 2015. The body of the crab is hollow and currently contains a picnic table and lighting."

"The horseshoe crab has been repainted. I stopped by near the end of September to see it, and that day there was a man talking to the owner about repainting it. I stopped by at the end of November to see if the job had been finished, and it had. Instead of the previous brown color, it is now olive green," the Roadside America (2) reports.

"This is quite an awesome sight. You can go inside/underneath the horseshoe crab, where they have a picnic table and a display of historical information. I parked just off the side of road, as there isn't a parking space for the crab. A sheriff did question if it was my car. I said I'd be two minutes and they let me finish taking my pictures without incident. I suggest being quick, as the road it's on can get busy."

"Horseshoe crabs are marine and brackish water arthropods of the family Limulidae and the only living members of the order Xiphosura.[2][3] Despite their name, they are not true crabs or crustaceans: they are chelicerates, most closely related to arachnids such as spiders, ticks, and scorpions.

"Horseshoe crabs live primarily in and around shallow coastal waters on soft, sandy or muddy bottoms. They are generally found in the intertidal zone at spring high tides. They are eaten in some parts of Asia, and used as fishing bait, in fertilizer and in science (especially Limulus amebocyte lysate). In recent years, population declines have occurred as a consequence of coastal habitat destruction and overharvesting.[3] Tetrodotoxin may be present in one horseshoe crab species, Carcinoscorpius rotundicauda.

"The fossil record of Xiphosura goes back over 440 million years to the Ordovician period, with the oldest representatives of the modern family Limulidae dating to approximately 250 million years ago during the Early Triassic. As such, the extant forms have been described as "living fossils". Some molecular analyses have placed Xiphosura within Arachnida, with a 2019 molecular analysis placing them as the sister group of Ricinulei." (Wikipedia)

"Crossing this one off! How cool to see this random crab! There is a Geocache there as well! Not sure where to park but there was a small pull off."

"Was well worth the stop passing through. It doesn't take long to visit so I would suggest to anyone in the area to stop and get a taste of old roadside Americana. Interesting to hear how it finally made it's way to where it is now."

"This is a roadside anomaly kind of out of place, but also unexpected as well as unusual. The owner Ben is a great guy very friendly and welcoming. It's free!"

"This is an interested must see if in the area. I love throwing quirky places in to our family vacations. There is no off street parking. Just pull off the side of the road, put on your flashers and walk on over, snap a few pics and back to the car."

"We were driving down the road and said out loud "what in the world is that?"!! This is one big crab, a very interesting sight."

"Great "must see" roadside attraction - the owner lives on premises and is a great guy. It'll take you 15 min, so go check it out to say you saw it!"

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