Big Muskie Bucket

4477 OH-78, McConnelsville, OH  

Designated a “Great Ohio Adventure of Learning” by the State of Ohio Division of Travel & Tourism

“Big Muskie” was once the World’s Largest Earth Moving Machine; it was the largest drag line ever built and was one of the Seven Engineering Wonders of the World! Between 1969 and 1991, it moved 483 million tons of rock and soil. Big Muskie could move 39 million pounds of earth and rock every hour, revealing rich coal seams 100-150 feet down in southeastern Ohio. Big Muskie could swing its boom 600 feet, creeping across the landscape on four giant shoes. The immense dragline machine was churning along at full production until 1991, when power demands and other factors convinced the owners to shut down.

The Big Muskie Bucket is the centerpiece of Miner’s Memorial Park located just 17 miles West of Caldwell off I-77, Exit 25, right along SR 78. This artifact has generated unbelievable interest from young and old all across the United States and from around the world! It has even been featured on the History Channel!

The bucket, in the photo above, weighs 460,000 pounds empty and when loaded carried an additional 640,000 pounds. Its volume is equal to that of a 12 car garage. You’ll also see the “Wall of Honor,” listing the names of employees of Central Ohio Coal Company, which operated Big Muskie. The park’s structural facilities are made from 50-year-old red oak trees planted by miners on reclaimed land.

The Big Muskie Bucket and Miner’s Memorial is without a doubt a one-of-a-kind destination. The site represents a major piece of history and assures that the mining men and women of Southeastern Ohio will never be forgotten.