Bangor’s Paul Bunyan

By the mid-nineteenth century, Bangor, Maine was the Lumber Capitol of the World where lumberjacks left for the lumber camps in the great forests to the north and returned to the big city to spend their earnings. It was a big deal and a place for big dealings. One of the biggest was a boy named Paul Bunyan, a lumberjack of legend, said to have spent time in, and claimed by, most of the forested spaces on the continent.

Born in Bangor

The stories say that deep in the woods, round about Bangor, a legendary folk hero was delivered to his proud parents by a flock of five storks on February 12, 1834. He was 50 pounds then, and quickly grew big that he outgrew his cradle in a week, so another cradle, this one big as an ark, was built and anchored in the waters of the Penobscot as it was the only way the lad could be rocked to sleep.

He fell asleep to the waves of the river and the bay. His first toys were the logs coming downstream. The work songs of the hard driving Bangor Tigers were his lullabies. With all this, he was destined to be a lumberjack. He traveled through Maine and Canada, made his way to Michigan and Minnesota, and all through the northwest, felling trees wherever he traveled.

Paul Bunyan has been a staple in folklore and pop culture, from traditional songs passed on from lumber camp to lumber camp to the first published references in the late 1800s to more modern fare, like the 1959 animated Walt Disney short film and 1964 New Christy Minstrels song focused on his in Minnesota. The big fellow continues to inspire — the energetic homage by the Michigan-based band Roosevelt Diggs sings of the legend’s travels between Michigan and Maine and local songwriter Joe Pickering Sr. released “The Ballad of Paul Bunyan” in 2015.

Paul Bunyan on Main Street

Bangor’s iconic statue has stood at the end of Main Street since 1959. The smiling, towering fellow holds a double-sided axe and a peavy hook, big sensation around here and a must-stop location for visitors.

“…the most handsome Paul Bunyan in existence.”

Atlas Obscura

The statue of the famed logger was unveiled on February 12th, 1959 during Bangor’s 125th anniversary celebrations. The 3,700 pound, 31-foot-tall statue is steel-framed fiberglass, engineered to withstand hurricane force winds. Mr. J. Normand Martin sculpted the model upon which Bangor’s Bunyan is based.

Martin also sculpted Paul’s companion, Babe the Blue Ox. The model is on display in the International Cryptozoology Museum in Bangor.

Bangor’s statue holds a unique claim to fame for horror fans. Possessed by an evil entity, the statue comes to life in Stephen King’s 1986 novel IT, and is briefly imagined in IT: Chapter Two and the 2025 IT: Welcome to Derry TV series.

In addition to many stories and songs about the national folk hero’s exploits, there are dozens of features about our tall Paul, including Roadside America, Atlas Obscura, and the National Trust for Historic Places.