The "World's Largest Buffalo Monument" is a

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

of an

American Bison The American bison (''Bison bison'') is a species of bison native to North America. Sometimes colloquially referred to as American buffalo or simply buffalo (a different clade of bovine), it is one of two extant species of bison, alongside the ...

located in

Jamestown, North Dakota Jamestown is a city in Stutsman County, North Dakota, United States. It is the county seat of Stutsman County. The population was 15,849 at the 2020 census, making it the ninth largest city in North Dakota. Jamestown was founded in 1883 and i ...

at the Frontier Village. It is visible from

Interstate 94 Interstate 94 (I-94) is an east–west Interstate Highway connecting the Great Lakes and northern Great Plains regions of the United States. Its western terminus is just east of Billings, Montana, at a junction with I-90; its eastern ter ...

, overlooking the city from above the

James River The James River is a river in the U.S. state of Virginia that begins in the Appalachian Mountains and flows U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed April 1, 2011 to Chesapea ...

valley. The statue is a significant

tourist Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism mo ...

draw for Jamestown and the source of its nickname, ''The Buffalo City''.

Description

The sculpture is tall and long and weighs . It was constructed with

stucco Stucco or render is a construction material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a decorative coating for walls and ceilings, exterior walls, and as a sculptural and a ...

and

cement A cement is a binder, a chemical substance used for construction that sets, hardens, and adheres to other materials to bind them together. Cement is seldom used on its own, but rather to bind sand and gravel ( aggregate) together. Cement mix ...

around a

steel Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...

beam frame shaped with

wire Overhead power cabling. The conductor consists of seven strands of steel (centre, high tensile strength), surrounded by four outer layers of aluminium (high conductivity). Sample diameter 40 mm A wire is a flexible strand of metal. Wire is c ...

mesh. The sculpture is complete in many respects of detail. It is sculptured after a male bison in mid-stride and is anatomically correct.

History

The sculpture was commissioned in 1959 by local businessman Harold Newman, designed by

Elmer Petersen Elmer Paul Petersen (September 4, 1928 – August 5, 2020) was an American sculptor who worked in metal. His most prominent artwork is the World's Largest Buffalo in Jamestown, North Dakota. Petersen lived and worked in Galesville, Wiscons ...

Jamestown College , mottoeng = Light and Truth , established = , type = Private university , religious_affiliation = Christian , endowment = $45 million , staff = , faculty = , president = Polly Peterson , p ...

Art Professor and sculptor, and constructed under Peterson's supervision by professional construction workers and community members. The final construction cost was approximately US$8,500 in 1969; a significant overrun from initial estimates closer to $4,600. The

concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most wi ...

slab that lies under the sculpture was added later and was not included in the initial cost. When originally constructed, the statue stood alone on a hill south of Jamestown. Beginning in the mid-1960s, the city began expanding the site with the collection of a small number of historic buildings moved there in an attempt to recreate the look of a small

Midwestern The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. I ...

town in the 1800s. Named Frontier Village, the project has grown over the years to encompass several acres (hectares) with a complex of buildings and other attractions, including the National Buffalo Museum. However, the Buffalo remains the featured attraction. In June 2007, the city of Jamestown received a grant of $16,500 from Hampton Hotels' Save-A-Landmark program to refurbish the buffalo. The money was used to repaint the buffalo to look more lifelike and to enlarge the horns. Original designer Elmer Petersen directly oversaw the renovation. On July 24, 2010, the World's Largest Buffalo was named "Dakota Thunder", after a contest that drew more than 3,500 entries.

References

External links

Jamestown, ND Tourism website

National Buffalo Museum website

Hampton Landmarks
{{coord, 46.889290, -98.698505, type:landmark_globe:earth_region:US-ND, display=title Outdoor sculptures in North Dakota Buildings and structures in Jamestown, North Dakota Tourist attractions in Stutsman County, North Dakota Roadside attractions in North Dakota 1959 sculptures Bison in art Stucco sculptures Construction records Colossal statues in the United States 1959 establishments in North Dakota Animal sculptures in the United States Sculptures of bovines