Here’s The Story Behind The Massive Paul Bunyan Statue In Maine
By Michelle|Published January 28, 2022
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Michelle
Author
Michelle's life is a colorful map of exploration and adventure. From the iconic streets of New York to the sunny shores of Florida, the jagged coast of Maine to the rugged terrain of Montana, she's been fortunate to call some of America's most beautiful states home. Beyond the U.S., Michelle's wanderlust has taken her on a motorcycle journey through India, led her to teach English in Hanoi, and saw her studying Spanish in Guatemala. Michelle graduated with a communications degree from the S. I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University and in addition to a career in advertising has worked with OnlyInYourState since 2016, where her love for travel and storytelling converges. Alongside writing and exploring, Michelle finds joy in photography, staying active, and time with her family.
For questions, comments and inquiries please email: mstarin@onlyinyourstate.com.
Maine is special for a lot of reasons, but one of them is just how quirky it is. From north to south and east to west there’s always something unique to see. And most of the time these things are totally unexpected. Of these our favorites are the ones that seem to have no rhyme or reason. Like this statue in Bangor!
It might seem strange that there's a giant Paul Bunyan statue in Maine, but it's such a cool thing to see that we never really asked any questios.
But, the curious part of us recently won out and we finally did some digging to find out why the world's largest Paul Bunyan statue found a home in Bangor.
The story is actually pretty simple! It dates back to 1959, what would have been the year of Paul's 125th birthday. To celebrate, a local Bangor committee raised $20,000 to pay a New York fabricator to build it.
Strangely, Martin was only paid $137 for the design, which is something we think Bangor should reevaluate given how popular this Paul Bunyan statue in Maine has become.
Tomato, tom-ah-to. This roadside attraction is just strange enough for Maine, and quite welcome here!
The Paul Bunyan statue in Bangor is free to visit. It can be found in Bass Park on the west side of Main Street. Have you visited? If so, let us know your thoughts in the comments!