In celebration of the state of Maine’s birthday this week, we are paying tribute to its larger than life resident, Paul Bunyan, the legendary lumberjack known for his great strength. Oh sure Minnesota claims Bunyan came from their neck of the woods. However, it is in Maine where the tallest Paul Bunyan statue in the world stands at 31 feet tall and 3,700 pounds, located in Bangor.
Why Bangor? Beginning as early as the 17th century, Maine has long been known for logging, and by the 1830s, Bangor was the world’s largest lumber shipping port. In fact, between 1830 and 1890 an estimated 9.7 trillion board feet of timber moved through this boom town. Maine winters were ideal for logging, with its deep snow and frozen rivers making it easier to move the massive logs. Then in the spring, when the rivers swelled with the melting snow and heavy rains, the logs could then be easily pushed in log drives to Bangor for processing and export.
It was at these northern Maine logging camps, that tales of Paul Bunyan’s superhuman exploits were first shared around the campfires after a hard day of work. Some even argue that his name came from the French-Canadian lumberjacks who would exclaim with surprise when hearing these stories, “bon yenne!” Well as these lumberjacks traveled for work, so too did the legendary tales of Bunyan. By the late 1800s and early 1900s, his name began popping up in print in across the country. However, it wasn’t until William B. Laughead used Bunyan in a series of promotional stories for a Minnesota lumber company that he began gaining momentum in popular culture in 1910s through 1940s.
Paul Bunyan’s celebrity status was sealed though in 1958 when Disney featured him in an animated musical. Set in Maine, Paul mysteriously arrived in a ginormous cradle, and was raised by the residents, who gave him his first axe. Well as the narrator claims, “Paul took to cutting trees like a duck to water,” and it didn’t take long for him to transform their tiny backwoods village into a bustling town. It is then that Paul Bunyan left Maine and headed west.
Which brings us back to the towering statue in Bangor, Maine. The ginormous fiberglass statue was gifted in to Bangor in 1959 in celebration of the city’s 125th anniversary. Some may say he is just a product of folklore, but with 90% of the state forested today, there is still plenty of places for Paul Bunyan to be residing without notice while continuing his legendary feats of great strength.
If you’d like to learn more, we recommend A History of Maine Logging (Wood Splitters Direct Blog, February 11, 2020), and a special thanks to Wikipedia for helping us reach new heights understanding the tall tale of Paul Bunyan.
