Paul Bunyan Statue – Rumford, Maine - Atlas Obscura

Paul Bunyan Statue

 

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A large ax wielding Paul Bunyan statue and his sidekick Babe the Blue Ox stand vigil near the base of Falls Hill and next to the Rumford Chamber of Commerce welcome center in Rumford, Maine. They are one piece of the larger pie of J. Eugene Boivin Park, which contains contemporary art, stunning views of a large waterfall, a political memorial and even a food truck specializing in apple crisp.

The Paul Bunyan roadside statue has become a hallmark symbol of the melding of American folk legend with highway culture kitsch. The origins of the Paul Bunyan story are difficult to determine, one scholar theorized that Bunyan may have been modeled upon a French-Canadian lumberjack named Fabian Fournier who lived from 1845 to 1875.

Others think that the character of Paul Bunyan was a creation of North American loggers who used storytelling as a form of entertainment in the isolated logging camps. Exaggerated stories about Paul Bunyan in the form of tall tales told by loggers usually incorporated some element of superhuman behavior by Paul Bunyan, for instance making the Grand Canyon by dragging a tool along the ground.

It is also thought by some folk lore scholars that the Paul Bunyan stories were the creation of advertisers bent on drumming up business for the lumber industry and have thus negatively branded the Paul Bunyan story as fakelore.

Paul Bunyan and his sidekick Babe the Blue Ox are claimed as native sons by no less than seven different cities in four U.S. States. Bangor, Maine is among those claiming to be the birthplace of this unique pair of characters. Although there is a Paul Bunyan statue in Rumford, Maine it does not appear that anyone claims Paul Bunyan came from there.

After posing for the obligatory picture beneath Paul Bunyan’s groin, the curious explorer will also find a sidewalk painted with blue hoof-prints leading near to where Ol Blue stands. A short walk down the hill behind the the center and there is a large granite memorial to Rumford’s favorite son, former U.S. Senator, Secretary of State and Presidential candidate Edmund Sixtus Muskie. A little further toward the brisk waters of Rumford Falls, which boast the largest vertical drop east of Niagra Falls is a piece of artwork honoring the first settlers of that area with a series of Indian sillhouettes.

Know Before You Go

The Paul Bunyan and Babe the blue ox are in the Chamber of Commerce welcome center parking lot near the south side intersection of US Route # 2/Bridge St. at the south side of Rumford, Maine.

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