Giant Roadside Crosses

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Raw file: Giant Roadside Crosses.csv (37.22 KB)

Includes 548 locations in the following areas:

• United States: AL, AR, AZ, CA, CT, FL, GA, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, MI, MO, MS, NC, NJ, NY, OH, OK, PA, SC, TN, TX, VA, WI, WV
• some may be in: DC (near a border)

This file contains the roadside crosses that are throughout the nation. These are the giant crosses, the ones that are spectacles, the ones that are either alone or found in groups of three along our roadways. Do not get these crosses confused with the hundreds of thousands of roadside memorials that we often see.

The crosses are found on farmlands, along busy urban roads, near churches, and some even light up the sides of a mountain at nighttime. Many are wood, but some are made of aluminum, steel, and concrete. Some are as tiny as 15 feet, others are as enormous as 100 feet tall. They are all 3 dimensional (not just an image attached to the facade of a church). Some are impressive enough to include here when they top a church steeple.
If any locations were missed or have the wrong coordinates please send them to me. (All locations are approximate.)

AL (15)
AR (9)
CA (9)
CT (5)
FL (18)
GA (17)
IL (9)
IN 22)
KS (6)
KY (20)
LA (6)
MA (1)
MD (13)
MI (6)
MS (14)
MO (14)
NC (89)
NJ (6)
NY (10)
OH (38)
OK (5)
PA (36)
SC (27)
TN (21)
TX (26)
VA (60)
WI (1)
WV (44)

**NOTE** some locations have been researched using the internet, then accurately located using Google Earth (along with Google Maps for road names). All the GPS coordinates provided within this POI file are for road viewing, not the actual cross site. Make sure to set the POI warning to several miles to ensure proximity notification.

Factoid: (from Roadside America) The sets of three crosses were all put up by the same man, Bernard Coffindaffer, a once-wealthy West Virginia businessman. He spent more than $2.5 million putting them up after a vision following open heart surgery told him to start building "crosses of mercy." The first trio was built north of Charleston, WV, and eventually some 1,800 were planted across 29 states. Coffindaffer's crosses are two pale blue ones and a yellow one, painted these colors to represent the colors of the sky and the light of the sun over Jerusalem. The crosses are treated with a saline solution and built to last 35 years. Coffindaffer eventually went broke, and died in October, 1993, after more than ten years of building.

Factoid #2: Generations of Appalachian Southerners are familiar with the work of the Rev. Henry Harrison Mayes, even if they don’t know his name.

Mayes, who was born in 1898 and died in 1986, spent a lifetime creating giant, rugged concrete crosses that stood by roadsides before there were interstates.

Discussion Topics

• Giant Roadside Crosses

Change History

• ajasaro - Oct 28, 2023
  update

• ajasaro - Oct 11, 2022
  Corrected location of cross off of FL-408

• ajasaro - Oct 14, 2021
  Updated the format

• ajasaro - Sep 30, 2021
  Added 5 locations

• ajasaro - Oct 5, 2020
  Update

• ajasaro - Oct 5, 2020
  Update

• ajasaro - Nov 15, 2019
  Update - changed the location of 2 crosses .Thanks bluegrassguy1

• ajasaro - Jun 4, 2019
  Added 3 additional locations; Thanks Pointer.SD

• ajasaro - Jun 4, 2019
  Added two locations: Thanks Pointer.SD

• ajasaro - Feb 9, 2019
  Added location FL

• ajasaro - Jan 21, 2019
  Deleted location NJ

• ajasaro - Sep 22, 2018
  update

• ajasaro - Apr 9, 2018
  4 BMP's & pic

• ajasaro - Apr 9, 2018
  Added Cross in Hunters Creek, FL

• GlobeTurtle - Apr 8, 2018
  Changed file maintainer from Vito to Ajasaro

• Vito - Sep 8, 2015
  deleted 9, added more, new total is 537

• Vito - May 28, 2015
  Count now at 491. Coffindaffer crosses now up to 112

• Vito - Apr 13, 2015
  Now up to 97 verified Coffindaffer crosses

• charlesd45 - Mar 10, 2015
  WAV

• Vito - Mar 9, 2015
  deleted some, added many. Total now 433

• Vito - Dec 25, 2014
  Added some, deleted some; 71 Coffindaffer

• Vito - Nov 28, 2014
  Added new locations, deleted some. New total 380

• Vito - Nov 4, 2014
  Deleted 5, added 17 new; file now has 67 Coffindaffer

• Vito - Sep 28, 2014
  added 26 new, deleted 8

• Vito - Jun 7, 2014
  added 25 new, deleted 3 (they were not outstanding)

• Vito - May 6, 2014
  Added 25 new

• Vito - Apr 20, 2014
  Added 35 new, deleted 1, verified others

• Vito - Mar 10, 2014
  deleted 2, added 23 new, verified others

• Vito - Feb 21, 2014
  16 new locations

• Vito - Feb 5, 2014
  added 24 new locations.

• Vito - Feb 5, 2014
  added 24 new locations.

• Vito - Dec 25, 2013
  Aded 18 new locations

• Vito - Nov 24, 2013
  added 23 new locations

• spokybob - Oct 29, 2013
  added one in MO

• ratjumper - Oct 29, 2013
  added 8, thanks!

• Vito - Oct 28, 2013
  added 15 new locations

• Vito - Sep 30, 2013
  Added 30 new locations along with 6 location corrections

• Panache - Sep 3, 2013
  located Gardendale, AL giant cross. Vito also added 3 more locations.

• Vito - Sep 3, 2013
  added picture and bmp icon

• starlillie01 - Sep 2, 2013
  found loc. of 2 sets of Coffindaffer crosses

• Norwood - Sep 2, 2013
  found location of giant cross in Jasper, AL

• Vito - Sep 1, 2013
  Added 16 new locations, including a second Giant Jesus & "The Statue of Liberation" (TN)

• Vito - Aug 26, 2013
  Original upload: 4 locations

• Vito - Aug 11, 2013
  added 4 locations from research, using Google Earth (MO, MI, CAx2).

• Vito - Aug 10, 2013
  added 41 locations, including 'Giant Jesus'. File now includes the World's Largest, the World's Tallest, and the

• Vito - Jul 8, 2013
  added 15 locations (Google Earth)

• Vito - Jul 4, 2013
  Submitted file