In American folklore, Paul Bunyan was a character of great size and enormous strength. Together with Babe, his giant blue ox, he is said to be responsible for many of America and Canada's geographic features from the Great Lakes west to the Pacific Ocean.

Stories of Paul Bunyan first appeared in print in a Detroit newspaper in 1910, and he soon became a popular symbol of America's vast size and great strength.

The 35ft tall statue located on Main street in Bangor was designed by J. Normand Martin, built by Messmoor & Damon Company and donated to the City of Bangor on February 25, 1959, the 125th anniversary of Bangor's incorporation. 

The statue has an exterior of fiberglass covering a metal frame and 8 inch pipe "legs". It was designed to withstand 110 MPH winds and has the proportions of a 5 foot - seven inch man. He is said to be buried (he died in 1899) in Kelliher. His epitaph: "Here lies Paul, And That's All."

According to his symbolic birth certificate, Paul Bunyan was born in Bangor, Maine on February 13, 1834. The Paul Bunyan statue was built to celebrate the 125th anniversary of Bangor’s incorporation as a city in 1959. Paul is 31-feet tall, weighs 3,200 pounds, and has a steel interior and a fiberglass exterior.  The statue is mounted on a 12’ x 6’ x 6’ concrete base. A copper time capsule was placed in the base and will be opened when the city celebrates its 250th Anniversary in 2084.