Welcome to Gibtown, the last 'freakshow' town in America With the demise of the carnival, an important slice of American history risks being lost – but the residents of Gibsonton, Florida, are trying to keep the legacy of the town’s famous ‘freaks’ alive Ward Hall, 84. He has been in the sideshow business for 70 years. Guardian Kim Wall and Caterina Clerici in Gibsonton, Florida Thu 26 Feb 2015 09.15 EST 30 F or those who didn’t quite fit elsewhere, Gibtown was a utopia. Its first settlers, the Giant, and his wife, the Half-Woman, ran a campsite, a bakeshop and the fire department. The post office catered to little people with extra-low counters, and the beer hall had custom-built chairs for the Fat Ladies and the Tallest Man. Special zoning regulations allowed residents to keep and train exotic animals in their gardens. Siamese-twin sisters ran a fruit stand. Three factories manufactured Ferris wheels and carousels. Or at least that’s how Ward Hall, aka the King...
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