Another Roadside Attraction Geotrail

North Carolina - Grave of Siamese Twins

There is nothing better than a good road trip: driving down the open road, eating at tiny roadside diners, going 150 miles out of the way to take a selfie in front of … the Peachoid water tower! Oh Say, can you see … me with the world’s largest frying pan?

This geotrail honors those unique, odd, bizarre, fun, historic, campy, weird, and just downright interesting roadside attractions in North and South Carolina. The caches aren’t meant to be hard, it is a power-trail after all. None of the caches are hidden at the posted locations - but answer the question correctly and you will have a working set of coordinates. All of the hides are preform bottles.

Chang and Eng Bunker, the original Siamese Twins, are an American success story. Sure, they became famous as sideshow sensations, appearing in P.T. Barnum's show and traveling widely. But they also married, sired 21 children, and retired as rich tobacco farmers and slave owners to North Carolina.  They were A-list celebrities of the 19th century, and proved that even freaks of nature can cultivate a career path and a lasting legacy. The brothers were born May 11, 1811, in Bangkok, attached by the lower chest to each other. Their names, Chang and Eng, mean "left" and "right." The story goes that the captain of an American ship saw the boys swimming. Captain Coffin purchased Chang and Eng from their mother, and in 1829 the Siamese Twins hit American shores and started a four decade career as popular entertainers.

In 1839, the twins became American citizens, and added the last name Bunker. In 1844, they married Adelaide ("Addie") and Sarah Ann Yates, daughters of a Baptist minister. In 1854, they bought 1,000 acres of land and built houses one mile apart. The Siamese Twins would spend three days (and conjugal nights) at one brother's house, then three at the other, for some 31 years. Eng had eleven children, and Chang had ten. The Bunkers helped to build the Baptist church in their community.  

After death, the twins were first buried in the basement of Chang's house to discourage ghoulish souvenir collectors. After only a couple of days, however, they were dug up and shipped to The College of Physicians in Philadelphia, where doctors made a plaster cast of their body and cut out their liver (still on display today at the Mutter Museum). The Bunkers were then shipped back to North Carolina and buried in Chang's front yard. Finally, after the last of the sisters died in 1917, the twins and sister Addie were moved to the burial ground of the Baptist Church. They lie under a single tombstone (Just a few rows away, you can find the tombstone of Andy Griffith's grandparents). Sister Sarah, who had died in 1892, was buried on Eng's farm in a grave in the woods.  There are over 1000 Bunker descendants still living in the small North Carolina town.

N 34 30.956 W 79 16.ABC

Where can you visit the grave of the Siamese Twins?

A. Winston Salem, NC - 500

B. White Plains, NC - 338

C. Wilmington, NC - 142

D. Rutherfordton, NC - 833