Ella Ewing: The Missouri Giantess (2016 Notable Missourians)

In many ways, Ella Kate Ewing was an ordinary girl. While growing up on a farm in the 1880s, she learned to sew and cook, help take care of the livestock, hunt rabbits, and tend the garden. But in one way, Ella was anything but ordinary. She was extraordinarily tall. By the time she was finished growing, Ella was 8'4" tall. Ella toured the country as The Missouri Giantess, exhibiting at museums and fairs and appearing in the Barnum & Bailey Circus, Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show, the Ringling Brothers Circus, and two World's Fairs. She traveled farther than any of her friends and neighbors, but she always returned home, where she was known for her kindness and good nature. Ella Ewing showed how to turn a problem into an advantage and showed that fame doesn't have to change who you are.