Fields of the Wood: Roadside attraction of biblical proportion gets a cleaning

By Hannah Mackenzie

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    MURPHY, North Carolina (WLOS) — From breweries to Biltmore Estate, Western North Carolina is known for many sights, but few may know it’s also home to one of the world’s largest roadside attractions.

Nestled in the mountains of Murphy lies a roadside attraction of biblical proportion: Fields of the Wood.

“If you Google the world’s largest Ten Commandments, that’s what you get,” said Bill Hutson, who’s been volunteering at the park.

One of the most eye-catching areas of the park is Ten Commandment Mountain. Each letter in the 300-foot-wide display measures five feet tall. Three hundred and fifty-eight steps lead to the top of the mountain where you’ll find the world’s largest testament and breathtaking views overlooking the rest of the religious theme park.

Built in the 1940’s, the park has noticeable wear and tear. Ten minutes into their visit, Hutson and his wife, Pam, decided to help. The Hutsons own H & H Softwash in Franklin, North Carolina.

“We both looked at each other and said, ‘we’ve gotta wash this’,” Hutson recalled. “We wash houses and buildings and apparently biblical theme parks.”

Hutson first tackled the All-Nation’s Cross, which he said took him three days to clean. He then moved on to the Ten Commandments, on which he spent seven hours. Hutson was able to knock out the Golgotha Hill replica in less than two minutes.

“Hopefully, [visitors will] be more inspired by what’s here instead of the appearance of what’s here,” he said.

Using a gentle solution, the final impacts are not immediately noticeable, said Hutson. It takes a few days for the overgrowth and algae to die off.

“A lot of this stuff is brittle and falling apart,” Hutson said. “You don’t want to be blasting this stuff with 4,000 PSI, because you’ll just blow it apart.”

Hutson’s goal isn’t to restore the 80-year-old monuments to like-new condition.

“We want to keep some of the patina,” he said. “It’s the algae growth that we want to put it in check.”

Washing the park will take about three weeks. Hutson, who is volunteering his time and equipment, said the estimated $10,000 price tag is being taken care of by donations from his sponsors. Fields of the Wood is just one of more than a dozen charitable wash jobs he’s picking up this year.

Working atop a mountain, however, isn’t without risk.

“I tied off with a safety harness, so I could concentrate on washing, not falling,” Hutson said with a grin.

And the reward, he said, is bittersweet. This is one of Hutson’s last big undertakings before he hangs up his hose; he’s retiring next year.

“Makes me feel like I don’t want to say go out with a bang, but when you do a wash this size – of this magnitude – for something this inspirational it’s like you ended with a purpose,” he said.

A purpose Hutson and Fields of the Wood share: washing away years’ worth of imperfections.

“At the end of the day, you feel like you’ve accomplished something,” he said. “You feel like you’ve done something – something meaningful.”

According to the park’s website, Fields of the Wood is managed by Heritage Ministries, a department of the Church of God of Prophecy.

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