| Monument Name: | Big Potato Man |
| Mapframe: | yes |
| Location: | Maugerville, New Brunswick, Canada |
| Designer: | Winston Bronnum |
| Type: | Potato sculpture |
| Material: | concrete |
| Height: | 6.1m (20feet) |
| Open: | 1969 |
| Coordinates: | 45.8878°N -66.5246°W |
Big Potato Man is a sculpture of a large potato man located along Route 105 in Maugerville, New Brunswick, Canada. Constructed in 1969 by Winston Bronnum, Big Potato Man serves as a form of roadside advertisement for the adjacent farming business.
Big Potato Man is a large potato sculpture in Maugerville, New Brunswick.[1] Made using concrete, it stands at a height of 20feet with a thickness of 3feet.[2] The sculpture has two legs, arms resembling twigs,[1] a smiling face,[3] and sports a black top hat.[1] Big Potato Man was created in 1969 by sculptor Winston Bronnum for Karl Harvey, as a means to advertise the roadside stand for his family farming business.[4] [5]
Big Potato Man stands along Route 105, which was formerly part of the Trans-Canada Highway.[6] Since 1969, it has stood at the front of a farming business.[7]
In 1921, J. H. Harvey bought a farm in Maugerville, a small community along the Saint John River between Fredericton and Oromocto. The Harvey family ran a business,[2] known then as Harvey's,[5] selling vegetables at their roadside stand.[2]
In 1968, Karl Harvey, who ran the family farming business at the time, sought the creation for a large potato sculpture,[2] seeking a creative method to advertise his stand. In 1969, Karl had Big Potato Man built.[4] Created by sculptor Winston Bronnum using concrete,[5] [2] [8] the sculpture measured 20feet high and had a thickness of 3 feet. Big Potato Man proved successful for the business, with Gordon (Buzz) Harvey, Karl's son, later saying "he doubled our business within three to four years pretty well."[2] Following Karl Harvey's death in 1996, the $1,500 Karl Harvey Memorial Scholarship was posthumously created in his honour.[9] On March 24, 1999, the sculpture was nearly destroyed when a fire struck the business.[10] [11]
In November 2015,[12] the farm and home of Big Potato Man, then known as Harvey's Big Potato farm, was put up for sale.[2] Silver Valley Farms began leasing the farm in 2016,[13] and would take ownership of the establishment in September 2021.[14] In April 2022, Silver Valley Farms sought repairs for Big Potato Man, which was at risk of collapsing.[15] However, repair costs quoted at prompted the creation of a GoFundMe campaign,[16] which quickly racked in support. The fundraiser raised over within the first 48 hours,[17] and successfully reached its goal within nearly two weeks.[14]