Entry No. 8 — the Pueblo file — filed under: roadside-oddity
Grave of the Solid Muldoon
“P.T. Barnum offered $20,000; crowds paid 50 cents a look all the way to New York.”
In 1877 George Hull — the same con man behind the Cardiff Giant — kiln-fired a 7.5-foot petrified man from plaster, clay, ground bones, and actual meat, gave it a tail for missing-link credibility, and buried it in these hills for an accomplice to discover. P.T. Barnum offered $20,000; crowds paid 50 cents a look all the way to New York before the press cracked it. The original vanished, so in 1984 Pueblo buried a 1976 replica under a real tombstone on CO-78. It is still down there.
The story
In 1877, George Hull was already famous for fooling the nation with the Cardiff Giant, but he wanted a second act in Colorado. Disguised as a local farmer, Hull baked up a monstrosity using plaster, clay, rock dust, ground bones, and actual meat, shaping it into a 7.5-foot, 600-pound "petrified man." To capitalize on the era's evolutionary debates, he molded a tail onto its spine. He buried the heavy dummy in the hills near Beulah and waited until September 16, when an accomplice "stumbled" onto the discovery.
The fake corpse was hauled off to a stable in Pueblo, where locals eagerly handed over 50 cents a look. Dubbed the "Solid Muldoon"—a nod to a popular Irish song and a famous heavyweight wrestler of the day—the creature went on tour all the way to New York, drawing a $20,000 buyout offer from P.T. Barnum. The cash grab ran smoothly until journalists and scientists picked apart the creature's baked-meat composition and exposed the hoax. Shortly after the truth came out, the original dummy vanished.
Because southern Colorado never forgets a good swindle, Pueblo citizens decided to institutionalize the joke. In 1984, they took a 1976 replica of the Solid Muldoon, drove it back out to CO-78, and buried it under a formal headstone near mile marker 16. You aren't standing over an ancient fossil or even Hull's 1877 original—you're standing over a buried replica of a fake, resting quietly underground right where the scam began.
What it's like
Driving west from Pueblo on CO-78, keep your eyes on the mile markers; miss marker 16 and you'll blow right past the gravel turn-out on the north side of the highway. It is a quick, five-minute roadside stop on level ground. You step out into the mountain breeze, read the headstone resting against the backdrop of Muldoon Hill, and realize you are staring at a subterranean tomb built for a 1970s fiberglass copy of an 1870s carnival stunt. No gift shop, no crowds, no fee—just pure, understated Colorado huckster history.
The move: Pull off at mile 16, read the tombstone aloud to each other, then argue over pie in Beulah about which of you would have paid the 50 cents.
📍 Before you go The grave sits in a small gravel pull-off on the north side of CO-78 near mile marker 16, about 20 miles west of Pueblo and a few minutes east of Beulah — easy to blow past at highway speed, so watch the mile markers. It is a step-out-of-the-car stop on level roadside ground, five minutes tops. Pair it with the village of Beulah just up the road or a hike at Pueblo Mountain Park; from Pueblo, take Northern Avenue west until it becomes CO-78.
- 📍 Beulah
- 💸 Free
- ⚡ Up for anything
- 🌗 Outdoors
Where: Gravel pull-off, north side of CO-78 near mile marker 16, Beulah, CO 81023
Hours: Added 2026-06-11 — confirm current hours before you go.
Pair it with
- Colorado State Hospital Museum (CMHIP Museum) — Pair an 1870s mountain hoax with a look into real 1879 institutional medical history back in Pueblo.
- Mission: Wolf — Continue southwest into the Wet Mountains to visit an off-grid sanctuary caring for rescued wolves at 9,300 feet.
- Lake Pueblo State Park Stargazing Night — Balance 19th-century carnival junk science with real deep-space telescope viewings out by the reservoir.
Good to know
Is there actually a body buried under the tombstone?
Yes, but not a real corpse or the 1877 original. Pueblo locals buried a 1976 replica of the Solid Muldoon underground beneath the headstone in 1984.
Why did George Hull give the fake petrified man a tail?
Hull added a tail to play into 19th-century public fascination and scientific debates surrounding evolution and the search for a 'missing link.'
Where did the name 'Solid Muldoon' come from?
Pueblo locals nicknamed the creature after a popular Irish song of the 1870s and a famous heavyweight wrestler from that era.
How long does a visit take?
About five minutes. It's an open roadside turn-out right off CO-78, perfect for stepping out of the car, reading the marker, and taking a quick photo before heading on to Beulah or Pueblo Mountain Park.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: Roadside America · beulahhistoricalsociety.org · Wikipedia · historycolorado.org · coloradosun.com
last checked: 2026-06-11