Paul Bunyan Statue Bemidji, Minnesota

Paul Bunyan is a character from American folklore who was a prolific logger, and had a companion who was a blue ox, named Babe. They are modeled here at a large scale, as is customary (the Paul Bunyan figure is 18 feet tall), and came to town as part of a winter carnival in 1937. Though this was likely the first permanent municipal public display of Paul Bunyan in the state, there are at least two other large roadside Paul Bunyans in Minnesota including the “world’s largest” in Akeley, and a sitting and talking one in Brainerd. There are at least five in Michigan, and three in Wisconsin, as Bunyan in considered a legend of the “north woods.” Oregon, California, Idaho, Maine, and some Midwestern states also have some too.