Paul Bunyan Land

Paul Bunyan Land is a regional amusement park in Brainerd, Minnesota, built around a highly recognizable 26-foot animated and talking statue of the legendary lumberjack Paul Bunyan. The attraction originated in 1950 as the Paul Bunyan Center, when Sherm Levis established a park around a large Paul Bunyan figure that Levis and Roy Kuemicheal had acquired from the Chicago and North Western Transportation Company. The statue had originally been constructed for an exhibit at the Chicago Railroad Fair. Brainerd formally dedicated the installation on July 30, 1950, with a parade and fireworks, helping establish the figure as a local roadside and tourism landmark. The park's signature experience is the animated statue's interaction with visitors. Paul Bunyan welcomes arriving guests by name, making the statue more than a passive sign or monument and turning it into the attraction's central character. The park's identity is closely tied to the wider American folklore of Paul Bunyan, but its commercial appeal comes from the combination of storytelling, mechanical animation, family rides, and a distinctive Minnesota setting. Paul Bunyan Land expanded substantially during the twentieth century. By 1963, during a 20-week operating season, it reportedly attracted approximately 200,000 visitors. Its visibility extended beyond the local market through coverage and photography in publications including Holiday, Redbook, and National Geographic. Over time, the site grew to more than 40 rides and approximately 30 buildings. Among the buildings was a train depot constructed by Disney for Iron Will, a film shot in Duluth, Minnesota. The park faced a major transition in 2003. Its operators announced that the attraction would close and that its contents would be auctioned, citing the high cost of operation. This Old Farm, a family-owned business, intervened to preserve the attraction as a substantially intact experience. It acquired the Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox statues along with the rides and relocated the park approximately six miles east of Brainerd to property on State Highway 18. The relocated attraction is now associated with This Old Farm and is presented as Paul Bunyan Land on that site. The park's second major landmark is Babe the Blue Ox, Paul Bunyan's folkloric companion. In August 2006, a storm knocked over the 19-foot, 6,000-pound Babe statue, an event that underscored the practical challenges of maintaining large outdoor mechanical and sculptural attractions. Despite the relocation and operational changes, Paul Bunyan Land remains a place-based tourism business whose principal value lies in its historic rides, regional folklore, family entertainment, and recognizable roadside iconography rather than in a broad national brand network.

Paul Bunyan Land began in 1950 under the name Paul Bunyan Center. Its founding was associated with Sherm Levis, who, together with Roy Kuemicheal, purchased a large Paul Bunyan statue from the Chicago and North Western Transportation Company. The company had constructed the figure for an exhibit at the Chicago Railroad Fair. Rather than treating the statue solely as a display object, Levis developed an amusement attraction around it, linking a large mechanical character to rides and a regional tourism setting. The original statue became the park's defining feature. It stood at the intersection of Minnesota highways 210 and 371, where the city of Brainerd dedicated it on July 30, 1950, with a parade and fireworks. The animated, talking figure was designed to welcome visitors by name, creating an unusually personal arrival experience and giving the park a distinctive form of mechanical theater. The attraction drew on the popular American lumberjack folklore surrounding Paul Bunyan while presenting that folklore through an accessible family-entertainment format. Paul Bunyan Land expanded during the following decades. In 1963, the park operated for a 20-week season and reportedly received about 200,000 visitors. Its scale and visitor numbers made it a notable regional attraction, and it received exposure in Holiday, Redbook, and National Geographic. The site eventually contained more than 40 rides and approximately 30 buildings. The collection included a train depot built by Disney for Iron Will, a film produced in Minnesota and filmed in Duluth. This combination of rides, structures, statues, and local cultural associations gave the park a character broader than that of a conventional traveling carnival or small amusement center. The business encountered financial and operational pressure by 2003. The park announced that it would close and that its assets would be sold at auction, identifying the high cost of operation as the reason for the decision. The closure plan was altered when This Old Farm, a family-owned business, sought to preserve the attraction. This Old Farm purchased the principal statues, including Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox, as well as the rides. The park was then moved to This Old Farm's property approximately six miles east of Brainerd on State Highway 18. The relocation transferred the attraction from its original highway intersection setting to a farm-based destination while retaining its central identity and major physical features. Babe the Blue Ox, the companion figure associated with Paul Bunyan in folklore and at the park, presented a substantial maintenance challenge after relocation. In August 2006, a storm toppled the 19-foot, 6,000-pound statue. The incident demonstrated the vulnerability of large outdoor installations to severe weather, but it did not erase the park's continuing identity as a Paul Bunyan-themed attraction. Today, Paul Bunyan Land is best understood as a regional amusement-park brand and heritage attraction. Its principal assets are the animated Paul Bunyan figure, the Babe the Blue Ox figure, family rides, historic buildings, and the accumulated memory of a long-running Brainerd tourism institution. Its history is defined by three transitions: the conversion of a railroad-fair exhibit into a permanent attraction, the expansion into a substantial ride-based park, and the preservation and relocation of the site under This Old Farm after the threatened 2003 closure.

• 2006

  Babe statue is toppled by a storm

  [1]Paul Bunyan Landen.wikipedia.org

  A storm knocked over the 19-foot, 6,000-pound Babe the Blue Ox statue in August.

• 2003

  Park is preserved and relocated

  [1]Paul Bunyan Landen.wikipedia.org

  After a closure and auction announcement, This Old Farm acquired the principal statues and rides and moved the park to its property east of Brainerd.

• 1963

  Reported attendance reaches 200,000

  [1]Paul Bunyan Landen.wikipedia.org

  During a 20-week season, the park reportedly welcomed approximately 200,000 visitors and received attention from major magazines.

• 1950

  Paul Bunyan Center is founded

  [1]Paul Bunyan Landen.wikipedia.org

  Sherm Levis founded the attraction, originally called Paul Bunyan Center, around a large Paul Bunyan statue acquired with Roy Kuemicheal from the Chicago and North Western Transportation Company.

• 1950

  Statue dedication in Brainerd

  [1]Paul Bunyan Landen.wikipedia.org

  Brainerd dedicated the Paul Bunyan statue on July 30 at the intersection of highways 210 and 371 with a parade and fireworks.

A regional, family-oriented amusement attraction that combines Minnesota folklore, roadside Americana, historic park elements, and mechanical rides.

• Signature attraction · 1950

  Animated Paul Bunyan statue

  The park's principal landmark is a 26-foot animated and talking statue of Paul Bunyan weighing approximately 5,000 pounds. The figure greets arriving guests by name and functions as the attraction's central character, combining mechanical performance with regional folklore and roadside tourism.

• Themed landmark · 2003

  Babe the Blue Ox statue

  Babe the Blue Ox is the park's companion folkloric figure to Paul Bunyan. The outdoor statue is approximately 19 feet tall and weighs about 6,000 pounds. It was acquired and relocated with the park's other major assets and was toppled by a storm in 2006.

• Amusement rides

  Family amusement rides

  Paul Bunyan Land developed into a ride-based family amusement park with more than 40 rides at its historical peak. The rides were among the assets preserved by This Old Farm during the 2003 relocation, although the available reference material does not specify the current lineup.

• Heritage attraction

  Historic park buildings

  The historical park included approximately 30 buildings and structures. One notable feature was a train depot built by Disney for the film Iron Will, which was filmed in Duluth, Minnesota. The available material does not establish which historic structures remain in operation today.

• 2003

  Announced closure and auctionStrategy

  Background

  The park faced high operating costs and announced that it would close, with its rides and other assets to be auctioned.

  Action taken

  The planned auction was superseded when This Old Farm acquired the principal statues and rides to preserve the attraction.

  Aftermath

  Paul Bunyan Land was moved approximately six miles east of Brainerd to This Old Farm's property on State Highway 18.

  Source

• 2003

  This Old Farm acquires park assetsM&A

  Background

  This Old Farm sought to keep the attraction intact after the announced closure and auction.

  Action taken

  The family-owned business purchased the Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox statues and the park's rides.

  Aftermath

  The attraction was relocated from its original Brainerd site and continued under the Paul Bunyan Land identity at This Old Farm.

  Source

1. 1Paul Bunyan Landen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Paul Bunyan Land official websitepaulbunyanland.com