The statues of Paul Bunyan and Babe were built in 1937 in connection with a January Winter Carnival. The 18-foot Paul weighs two-and-one-half tons and stands above five tons of concrete footings. Babe was originally built to be mobile, covered with canvas, and for two years was trucked in parades throughout Minnesota before returning in 1939 to be cemented down beside Paul. The two figures remain permanent symbols of Bemidji and its most colorful era of logging and lumberjacks.