The great James Bowie died defending Texas liberty at the Battle of the Alamo on March 6, 1836. Prior to that, he was most famous for adventuring across the southeastern United States. His favorite hobby was dueling and he developed a knife design for that purpose. The iconic Bowie knife became embedded deeply in American history and the innards of Bowie's enemies.
The town of Bowie, Texas is named after Col. Bowie. To memorialize their namesake, the town has built the largest Bowie knife in the world. That is not is a statue made to look like a Bowie knife. It's an actual knife.
The Star-Telegram of Ft. Worth reports that the knife is 20 feet long and has has wood handle made from a local tree. The blade is 14 feet, 5 inches long and weighs 3,000 pounds.
So it's about half the size of original knife that Bowie carried on his hip.
When complete, the knife will rest inside a pedestal in Pelham Park in Bowie.
(Photo: riketyus)
A legend that I just made up says that if Texas is ever again in peril, the enormous statue of Gen. Sam Houston near Huntsville will come to life, draw the knife, and use it to stab the foes of Texas.
-via Atlas Obscura