LARGEST - Concrete totem pole in the world - Foyil, OK
Posted by: hamquilter
N 36° 26.244 W 095° 26.909
15S E 280529 N 4035250
Off the beaten track, it's worth the side trip
Waymark Code: WM9A32
Location: Oklahoma, United States
Date Posted: 07/20/2010
Views: 15
3.5 miles east of Foyil, OK on Highway 28A, you will come across a startling, unexpected sight - a colorfully painted concrete totem pole with a story.
Ed Galloway was on his way to California with his family, when he stopped in Oklahoma to take a temporary job. He ended up staying the rest of his life. In 1937, on this property in Foyil, he began construction on this concrete structure. Thinking it would be a good retirement project for himself, and something local children would enjoy visiting, he kept work on it until 1948.
Although not the tallest or largest totem pole of the wood variety, it is thought to be the largest of manmade structure. It is covered with concrete over metal and hand carved and painted, 60 ft. tall and 30 ft. in circumference. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.
An excellent story of Ed Galloway and his projects can be found at (
visit link)