On July 2, 1879, workmen widening a carriage road near the Taughannock House Hotel uncovered what appeared to be the petrified body of a seven-foot-tall man.
Newspapers reported on the find, and Cornell University scientists removed parts of the body for examination.
Over 5,000 people paid a small admission fee to view the 800-pound "giant."
Before long, the figure was revealed to be a hoax created by the hotel's owner, John Thompson, and two associates.
The idea for the hoax had been inspired by the Cardiff Giant, a similar "discovery" in nearby Cardiff, New York in 1869.
Although the original giant has been damaged and lost, a replica was constructed for the Tompkins Center for History & Culture by local artists in 2019.

An earlier publicity stunt masterminded by Thompson in 1874 involved hiring Canadian acrobat "Professor Jenkins" to cross a 1,200-foot-long tightrope suspended 350 feet above the creek.
He was reported to have crossed twice over two days, at least one of those times while blindfolded and wearing "Chinese wooden shoes."
Jenkins had previously crossed Niagara Falls gorge.
On July 2, 1879, workmen widening a carriage road near the Taughannock House Hotel uncovered what appeared to be the petrified body of a seven-foot-tall man. Newspapers reported on the find, and Cornell University scientists removed parts of the body for examination. Over 5,000 people paid a small admission fee to view the 800-pound "giant." Before long, the figure was revealed to be a hoax created by the hotel's owner, John Thompson, and two associates. The idea for the hoax had been inspired by the Cardiff Giant, a similar "discovery" in nearby Cardiff, New York in 1869. Although the original giant has been damaged and lost, a replica was constructed for the Tompkins Center for History & Culture by local artists in 2019.
An earlier publicity stunt masterminded by Thompson in 1874 involved hiring Canadian acrobat "Professor Jenkins" to cross a 1,200-foot-long tightrope suspended 350 feet above the creek. He was reported to have crossed twice over two days, at least one of those times while blindfolded and wearing "Chinese wooden shoes." Jenkins had previously crossed Niagara Falls gorge.
Taughannock Falls State Park