Imagine you're wandering through Croaker, Virginia, just minding your own business, when you stumble upon the sight of 43 creepy, crumbling effigies of U.S. presidents standing alone in a field. What's going on?

Photo credit: Smithsonian Magazine

Today, they sit on Howard Hankins' family farm, but the journey of these busts is much more complicated than that.

Originally created in 2004, these lonely leaders were supposed to be the main attraction of President's Park, which Smithsonian.com described as "a now-defunct open-air museum where visitors could once walk among the presidential heads."

Unfortunately, the attraction never took off and "the park, which cost about $10 million to create, went belly-up due to a lack of visitors in 2010."

So why does this Hankins guy own them now? Well, after the bankruptcy, he was the poor fella who was asked to destroy and dispose of the giant, 18-to-20-foot busts. But, being a true American, he just couldn't do it.

Ever the patriot, Hankins paid approximately $50,000 of his own money to haul these great men onto his property, 10 miles away. It's what any of us would have done... right?

Funny thing about moving these guys, though: Each one weighs "between 11,000 and 20,000 pounds." Even moving them just a few miles is a HUGE ordeal, and every single one has sustained considerable damage because of it.

Woodrow Wilson has definitely seen better days.

And the ever-stoic George Washington can only weep when he looks at FDR's current state of disrepair.

Recently, photographer David Ogden was permitted to come to the farm and take some pictures. Of the experience, Mr. Ogden told the Daily Mail, "When I first saw these busts in person I couldn't move - I think my camera even slid out of my hand."

Amazingly, this isn't the only place where this has happened. Another President's Park was opened in South Dakota, and it too has met the same fate.

There, intrepid local photographer Craig Warrington takes us on a tour via his Flickr page. As you can see, while this location is similarly abandoned, the busts are in decidedly better condition, though they still have their wear and tear.

Warrington recounted, "I was disappointed to see such an attraction - with busts of each and every one of our Presidents (minus the three or four which had previously been removed and placed at other locations in the Black Hills) to be left to slowly succumb to vandals, theft, and the elements."

He continued, "George H. W. Bush's stare was almost piercing and dare I say uncomfortable, and the uniform on Eisenhower (pictured) would most likely invoke a salute from many veterans either out of respect or simple muscle memory."

Back in Virginia, Hankins doesn't plan on disposing of these great men anytime soon. In fact, he's working with the local government to try to find a new place to put them. After all, kids need to learn about history somehow.

"One boy came out to see the heads, then he sent me a picture he drew of the presidents," Hankins told Smithsonian.com. "It just tugs at your heart to look at it."

Godspeed, Mr. Hankins. Godspeed.