In 1912, workers dug up a curious skeleton in the formerly-known town of Ellensburg, Oregon. The skeleton measured nearly eight feet in height...and was noted as the 'Ellensburg Giant. The ape-like forehead skull also included two rows of teeth in the upper jaw.
The earliest known account of this discovery was published in a small-town newspaper, The Newport (WA) Miner on May 16, 1912:
Ellensburg.-- A skeleton of a primitive man, with forehead sloping directly back from the eyes and with two rows of teeth in the front of his upper jaw, was uncovered here when contractors were excavating for an apartment house. The skeleton was found in the cement rock formation, over which was a layer of shale rock. The rock was perfectly dry and doctors say that the skeleton could have remained in that formation hundreds of years without rotting. The jaw bone, which broke apart when removed, is so large that it will go around the face of a man of today. The other bones are also much larger than that of ordinary men. The femur bone is 20 inches long, which, according to scientific men, would indicate that the man was 80 inches tall, or approximately six feet and eight inches.
Later accounts offered further details on the unique skeleton. The following account was originally published in the Portland (OR) Telegram in the Autumn of 1912:
The discovery of the bones of a human giant at Ellensburg is one of the most interesting anthropological finds made in the northwest, according to L.L. Sharp, chief of the general land office. "I just returned from Ellensburg," said he, "where I had opportunity to view the bones unearthed. The skull, jawbone, thigh and other parts of the largest skeleton indicated a man to my mind of at least eight feet high. A man of his stature and massive frame would weigh fully 300 pounds at least. The head is one of the most remarkable I ever have studied among prehistoric skulls. It is massive, with enormous brain space. While the forehead slopes down somewhat, not averaging the abrupt eminence of our present race, the width between the ears and the deep, well-rounded space at the back of the head and convincing testimony of high intelligence for a primitive man. The cheekbones are not high, like those of the Indian, nor has the head any resemblance to the Indian skull. I am convinced that this skull is of a prehistoric man who was one of a remarkable race of people who inhabited this part of America some time prior to the Indian control.
"The bones were uncovered fully 20 feet beneath the surface. There is the usual gravel formation on top, then the conglomerate, a stratum of shale, and in a bed of concrete gravel beneath the shale were the bones of the giant and of a smaller person. The shale would indicate tremendous age, perhaps more than 1,000,000 years, for the deposit in which the skeleton was found. But this I deem impossible, and presume that the bones were put beneath the shale by means of a tunnel perhaps, or some other system of internment. I cannot think it possible that a human being of the advanced stage indicated by this great skull could have existed at the period when the shale was formed."-- Portland (Ore.) Telegram
According to the record, there were at least two of these giant skeletons found in the Ellensburg area. Ellensburg was later renamed Gold Beach and is located in Curry County, Oregon. The area has a deep culture of Bigfoot sightings and encounters. Because of this tradition, it has been suggested that the Ellensburg Giants may have been actual Bigfoot.
The current whereabouts of the Ellensburg Giant skeleton are unknown.
An excellent account can be found at The "Giant Skeletons" from Ellensburg, Washington: A Closer Look
The Bigfoot Book: The Encyclopedia of Sasquatch, Yeti and Cryptid Primates
Wood Knocks Volume 1: A Journal of Sasquatch Research
Sasquatch: Legend Meets Science
Bigfoot, Yeti, and the Last Neanderthal: A Geneticist's Search for Modern Apemen
The Encyclopedia of Demons and Demonology
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