This week we travel to the northeastern United States. This Paul Bunyan in Bangor, Maine. The fiberglass statue of the legendary lumberjack is 37 feet tall and stands on Main Street of Bangor, a town once known as the lumber capital of the world. The statue was designed by J. Normand Martin and built by New York-based company Messmoor & Damon in 1959.
The legend of Paul Bunyan is much older. Bunyan is a legendary giant lumberjack in North American folklore of the mid-19th Century. He is often seen with his companion Blue Ox “Babe,” who is also gigantic. It was in the 20th Century, however, when Bunyan’s legend began to grow. Bunyan’s giant stature and trusty Babe herself were concocted for an advertising campaign for the Red River Lumber Company of California in 1916.
Bangor is one of many U.S. towns that lay claim to being the birthplace of Bunyan–and many of them have erected statues and monuments to the mythic lumberjack. Oscada, Michigan; Bemidji, Minnesota; Brainerd, Minnesota; Bay City Michigan; Wahoo, Nebraska; Eau Claire, Wisconsin all lay claim to the title. Kelliher, Minnesota is home to Paul Bunyan Memorial Park, purporting to be Bunyan’s grave. Rib Mountain in Wisconsin also lays claim to being the lumberjack’s final resting place.
Statues of the lumberjack, both with and without Babe, abound in the U.S. A brief list includes: Klamath, California along Highway 101, Muncie, Indiana; Portland, Oregon; and the previously mentioned Eau Claire.
Monumental Photography 