Entry No. 23 — the Raleigh file — filed under: folk art environment
Ben Harris Metal Sculptures
Self-taught welder Ben Harris turned his family's rural farm lot into a roadside folk-art environment filled with futuristic metal figures, giant dinosaurs, and propane-tank dancers.
The story
Drive down Piney Grove-Wilbon Road fast enough and you'll miss the quiet patch of Wake County where rural farmland gives way to an army of salvaged steel. Ben Harris, a self-taught welder, turned his family's farm lot into an open-air sanctuary for discarded metal. Without formal art-school credentials or gallery backing, Harris spent years bending, torching, and fusing industrial debris into an unclassifiable roadside folk-art environment.
What sits behind the fence is a silent, static mechanical zoo. Harris converted discarded propane tanks into articulated dancers and welded scrap piping into looming prehistoric beasts and retro-futuristic figures. It is outsider art at its most direct—a private obsession built piece by piece right along the edge of the asphalt.
What it's like
Expect a pure roadside pull-off rather than a manicured park. You'll pull completely onto the shoulder of Piney Grove-Wilbon Road, step out into the open air, and walk the perimeter fence to inspect the figures. Because the sculptures sit on private residential property, keep your feet on the public side of the fence line, bring a camera, and watch for passing country traffic while you take in the metalwork.
The move: Take a country drive down Piney Grove-Wilbon Road, pull over safely onto the shoulder, and walk along the fence line past life-sized scrap-metal figures.
- 📍 Fuquay-Varina
- 💸 Free
- ⚡ Up for anything
- 🌗 Outdoors
Where: 3620 Piney Grove-Wilbon Rd, Fuquay-Varina, NC 27526
Hours: Added 2026-07-21 — confirm current hours before you go.
Pair it with
- 401 Tattoo & Antiquities (Crowzeye Oddities) — Keep the strange momentum going just three miles away in Fuquay-Varina at this indoor vault of oddities and curiosities tucked inside a tattoo shop.
- Cloud Chamber for the Trees and Sky — Trade roadside scrap-metal dinosaurs for a stone camera obscura hidden in the woods of West Raleigh.
- Thomas Dambo's Trolls at Dorothea Dix Park — Continue the outdoor monumental sculpture run by hunting down colossal trolls built from salvaged wood and whiskey barrels.
Good to know
Do I need tickets or reservations to see the sculptures?
No. The collection is set up as a roadside folk-art environment visible directly from the public road.
Can I walk inside the property?
The sculptures sit on private property. View, appreciate, and photograph them from the public shoulder along the fence line.
What materials did the artist use?
Ben Harris built the figures out of salvaged scrap metal, steel plates, abandoned machinery components, and old propane tanks.
Where is the best place to park?
Pull completely off the asphalt onto the shoulder of Piney Grove-Wilbon Road, clear of moving lanes, and stay mindful of passing vehicles.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: Atlas Obscura · mainandbroadmag.com
last checked: 2026-07-21