Random History about Gibsonton, Florida, Where Is Full Of Circus Freaks (11 items)

• 

  (#1) Gibsonton Was Once Home To The World's Most Famous Sideshow Acts

  In its salad days, Gibsonton claimed some of the world's most famous - and infamous -sideshow acts as residents. Bearded ladies, giant men, conjoined twins, sword-swallowers, and fire-eaters, just to name a few, all settled in this sunny little berg. Some stayed for a season, some stayed for the rest of their lives. One of the last remaining bastions of that era is Ward Hall, known as the King of the Sideshow. Hall is dedicated to keeping Gibsonton's story alive. Now well into his eighties, he is an expert on both the town and the history of circuses and freak shows, serving as a consultant for numerous fictional works on the subject.
• 

  (#2) The Post Office Was Specially Designed For Little People To Use

  The Gibsonton Post Office long ago recognized the needs of its unique citizenry. So, they outfitted the building with amenities that would meet the requirements of such an exceptional population. The post office boasted a specially-designed low counter for the little people in town, the first post office in the United States to offer such a feature. As the sideshow acts have died off, the need for the low counters dwindled. Nowadays, they are of average height, but Gibsonton will always have the distinction of being perhaps the nation's first accessible post office.
• 

  (#3) Circus Performers Still Spend The Winter Here

  Sideshow acts are now a relic, a throwback to another time and place. There are many reasons for this, ranging from the declining popularity of circus acts in general to the more widespread acceptance of people with disabilities, deformities, and other challenges. But small, dying towns are still towns, and there are still circus performers who have made their homes in Gibsonton. And the residents, many of whom are descendants of Gibsonton's original freaks show performers, embrace the town's legacy. One local bartender described her job like this: "It's not a job, it’s a lifestyle."
• 

  (#4) There Is A Retirement Village For Aging Circus Performers

  Since some Gibsonton residents are aging or retired circus performers, the town offers housing especially for them. There is a retirement village that, perhaps ironically, "looks like an empty fairground." The International Independent Showmen’s Association, which runs the local circus museum, pays for the housing costs of the members who live in the retirement community. The money comes from the dues all Association members pay. Each unit is a self-contained apartment with a small front porch and a little barbecue grill. It's like The Golden Girls, but with circus freaks.
• 

  (#5) Outsiders Are Not Always Welcome

  Though most Gibsonton residents are interested in preserving the past and passing on the legacy of the community, the town isn't always welcoming to outsiders. When sideshow acts first settled here in the 1940s, Gibsonton was an escape. It was a place where performers could go without fear of being gaped at or ridiculed. And some of that reclusiveness and leeriness remain. Gibsonton, while no longer a circus freak capital, still generates interest among the general population and has been the setting or inspiration for movies, TV shows, and books. So, there remains a level of attention in which not all residents are comfortable.
• 

  (#6) It's Home To The International Independent Showmen's Association and Museum

  The International Independent Showmen's Association is the lone physical building committed to honoring Gibsonton's claim to fame. Ward Hall was the Association's first Hall of Fame inductee. The structure itself is 52,000 square feet of sideshow history come alive. In the middle of the massive space sits an old Ferris Wheel. Long-unused rides, curiosities, and exhibits abound. There is even a "politically incorrect [exhibit] on 'midget starlets'" and a costume once worn by burlesque performer Gypsy Rose Lee.
• 

  (#7) Special Zoning Laws Allowed Residents To Keep Exotic Pets

  Once upon a time, when Gibsonton was its height of sideshow-performer-popularity, special zoning laws had to be introduced. Many residents kept exotic pets, which were often part of their acts or part of another circus performance. Elephants, tigers, and monkeys were just a few of the animals residents were permitted to keep in their yards. Zoning also allowed carnival rides on personal property, and some, in the crumbling final stages of decay, are still on display. And rumor has it that at least one Gibsontonian still keeps elephants.
• 

  (#8) Gibsonton Was The Setting For The Infamous Lobster Boy Murder

  Today's Anatomy of Murder is on the infamous Grady Stiles. Better known as the Lobster Boy. A real monster. pic.twitter.com/zAlZgOyhCD

  — Coyote Shamrock (@TheRobDyke) May 15, 2016

  Grady Stiles was the world-famous Lobster Boy. His fingers and toes were merged together, giving them a claw-like look, hence the name Lobster Boy. Despite his notoriety, however, he was also rumored to be a major d*ck. That's what eventually led to his murder. A raging alcoholic, domestic abuser, and confessed killer (he murdered his daughter's fiancé the night before the wedding and served no prison time, despite his confession), his wife and her son reached a breaking point and hired another circus performer to shoot and kill him. All three were given prison sentences.
• 

  (#9) As Sideshows Have Declined, So Too Has Gibsonton

  Sadly, American small towns are a dying way of life. A lack of jobs, little opportunity, limited access to resources, and few cultural and social outlets are making small-town living a thing of the past. Gibsonton is no exception. Sideshows went out of fashion once the idea of "human freaks" became distasteful to the American public; the popularity of television also played a big role. As time has gone on, fewer and fewer sideshow personnel have meant a declining "freak show" population in Gibsonton.
• 

  (#10) Gibsonton Inspired The Fourth Season Of American Horror Story

  The fourth season of Ryan Murphy's hit FX anthology series, American Horror Story, was called Freak Show, and it took much of its inspiration directly from Gibsonton. The town of Jupiter, Florida, was modeled after Gibsonton, and some of the town's famous former residents were fictionalized in the season's storylines. Lobster Boy, for example, was surely memorialized in the character of Jimmy Darling. The show was set during the 1950s, an era when freak shows were on the decline. This infuses much of American Horror Story's drama with a sense of desperation, painting a bleak and terrifying portrait of a community with little, if anything, left to lose.
• 

  (#11) An X-Files Episode Was Set In Gibsonton

  Gibsonton was the setting for a famous X-Files episode. Season 2's 12th episode, "Humbug," unravels the story of a serial killer who is preying upon a community of sideshow performers. The episode was not shot in Gibsonton, but in Vancouver. While "Humbug" dealt with some serious themes and the usual science fictiony territory of The X-Files, it was actually more of a comedy than anything else. Also, there are logistical inaccuracies in the episode; for example, railroad cars uncommon in Florida but prevalent in Vancouver are spotted in the show.

New Random Displays    Display All By Ranking