''World's Largest Buffalo'' 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''; : ''bison''), commonly known as the American buffalo, or simply buffalo (not to be confused with Bubalina, true buffalo), is a species of bison that is endemic species, endemic (or native) to North America. ...

located in

Jamestown, North Dakota Jamestown is a city in and the county seat of Stutsman County, North Dakota, United States. The population was 15,849 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in North Dakota, ninth most populous city in North ...

, United States, 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 Virginia that begins in the Appalachian Mountains and flows from the confluence of the Cowpasture and Jackson Rivers in Botetourt County U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowli ...

valley. The statue is a significant

tourist Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as being limited to holiday activity on ...

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 ...

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 mi ...

around a

steel Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon that demonstrates improved mechanical properties compared to the pure form of iron. Due to steel's high Young's modulus, elastic modulus, Yield (engineering), yield strength, Fracture, fracture strength a ...

beam frame shaped with

wire file:Sample cross-section of high tension power (pylon) line.jpg, 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 d ...

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

anatomically Anatomy () is the branch of Morphology (biology), morphology concerned with the study of the internal structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things ...

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, Wisconsi ...

Jamestown College Jamestown may refer to Places Australia *Jamestown, South Australia Barbados *Holetown, Saint James, Barbados; sometimes called its founding name, Jamestown Canada * Mount Olive-Silverstone-Jamestown, a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, common ...

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 aggregate bound together with a fluid cement that cures to a solid over time. It is the second-most-used substance (after water), the most–widely used building material, and the most-manufactur ...

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, the Heartland or the American Midwest) is one of the four census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau. It occupies the northern central part of the United States. It ...

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 National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

. 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

{{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 Sculptures of bison Stucco sculptures Construction records Colossal statues in the United States 1959 establishments in North Dakota Animal sculptures in North Dakota