Here's The Story Behind The Massive Mining Bucket In Ohio
By Sarah McCosham|Published February 14, 2022
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Sarah McCosham
Author
I write like it's my job - because it is! I have a Master's in English and love words: crossword puzzles, Scrabble games, Wordle, and, of course, good, old-fashioned books.
I'm a writer and editor at OnlyInYourState, and a contributing writer at Cincinnati Magazine. I love the Great Outdoors and am endlessly awestruck by this beautiful country of ours. Coffee keeps me going, yoga keeps me sane, my kids keep me grounded, and my writing keeps me inspired.
If you’re into unique roadside attractions, you’ll be very happy in Ohio. Roadside attractions abound in the Buckeye State, from larger-than-life baskets to world-record breaking behemoths. Tucked away in the Appalachian region of southeast Ohio, you’ll find a Goliath-sized mining bucket known as Big Muskie. Once the world’s largest earth moving machine; today, this bucket remains as a reminder of Ohio’s mining heyday.
Tucked away in McConnelsville, Ohio, Jesse Owens State Park is an underrated gem that's one of the most beautiful parks in the Buckeye State.
"Big Muskie" was the largest dragline machine ever built. The 220-cubic-yard, 240-ton bucket is a true engineering marvel, an extraordinary feat that must be seen in person.
Due to the massive size of the machine, Big Muskie had to be built on site. Starting in 1967, more than 300 railcars and 250 trucks worked tirelessly to haul the materials out to Muskingum Mine. It took a team of engineers more than two years to erect Big Muskie.
When completed, the massive machine towered at an impressive 240 feet tall. In its prime, Big Muskie could lift 325 tons of earth and rock in a single bite. Between 1969 and 1991, the machine ran 24 hours a day, 364 days a year, moving more than 483 million cubic yards of rock and earth.
But when demand for coal began to wane in the '90s, Big Muskie, an expensive machine to run, was shut down. In 1999, Big Muskie was disassembled and recycled, its bucket left behind as a plaque to the past.
