The city of Bemidji is located in a vast woodland and lake region. As early as the 1890s, the town enjoyed a modest tourist trade. When rail connections were constructed to Bemidji in 1898, promoters began the development of lakeshore sites for cottages, hotels, and resorts. Most of these resorts catered to hunters and anglers. In the 1920s the rise in automobile popularity and affordability contributed to a significant boom in Bemidji's tourist industry, but it suffered during the Great Depression. Enter Paul Bunyan and Babethe Blue Ox. As a means of stimulating tourism in Bemidji, a number of local, civic organizations sponsored a winter carnival meant to promote the city's resources for winter sports. Due to Bemidji's once prominent status as a logging and lumbering center, the celebrations focused on Paul Bunyan, the larger-than life lumberjack who is an American folk hero. On January 14, 1937 the carnival opened with Earl L. Grinols, Sr., elected as the carnival king. Two giant statues were unveiled at the event: one of Bunyan and the other of his giant blue ox, Babe; the pair were to serve as carnival mascots. Babe was brought into town on a Grinols Implement & Fuel Co. truck arranged so that its exhaust exited through Babe's nostrils. The statues were designed by Lennord L. Pitney of Park Rapids, Minnesota. In March 2006, the Rotary Club of Bemidji raised $53,000; along with a $68,000 federal grant, the club undertook to repair some damage to the statues. The money was also allocated for use in maintenance, with the majority slated for stabilizing the ground beneath the statues, to lessen shifting in freezing temperatures. The work included repairing a crack in Babe from the neck to the hindquarters; this had continued to widen despite yearly fixes by the city with caulk and blue paint. In October of 2013, local organizers ran the first Bemidji Blue Ox Marathon and planned the course to run past the statues.
Dimensions
Paul Bunyan is approximately tall and measures across at his base. From toe to heel, Paul Bunyan measures. Babe the Blue Ox is about tall and across at the front hooves. From nose to tail, Babe measures about.
The statues are featured in the first season of the FX series Fargo. While mainly shown throughout the season on Bemidji's fictional welcome sign, the statues are featured in the episode "A Fox, a Rabbit, and a Cabbage". In the episode, the statues are depicted as smaller, life-size statues standing upon tall pedestals near railroad tracks and not Lake Bemidji.
