At one time, a giant monster roamed the hilly forests of southeastern Ohio. It was not Bigfoot or any other living creature but a massive mechanical one. It was built in 1967 to strip mine coal from the region. The largest dragline ever built, it was like an enormous crane that had a massive scooping bucket. Named the Big Muskie, it took more than 300 railcars and 250 trucks to haul the components to build it on site. It stood 240 feet tall, and the massive bucket could hold 325 tons of earth in one scoop.
The dragline worked twenty-four hours a day and seven days a week. By the early 1990s, it cost more to operate than the coal it produced, and Big Muskie finally retired. There were efforts to save it for a tourist attraction, but ultimately they failed and it was dismantled for scrap. The only thing that remains, and it is a really large thing, is the bucket it once used. It now stands at a roadside park on Ohio State Route 78 near Jesse Owens State Park. Visitors can climb inside the enormous bucket to see and feel how large it is.
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