Paul Bunyan, Iron Mining, & Hibbing, Minnesota

Paul Bunyan, the American folklore character, is mainly known as a giant lumberjack. This postcard "documents" his role in mining history. the description on the back of the card is as follows:

HIBBING, MINN. - Paul Bunyan was here with his blue ox “Babe.” Here the churning hooves of the great ox, as he pulled the kinks out of the Mesaba Range, gouged out the Hull-rust pit. The filings from the knives and axes at the Bunyan logging camp filled the great pit with a mighty reserve of iron ore which has provided the backbone of the U. S. defense effort in two world wars.

Hibbing Daily News is listed as the publisher of this card. The card was apparently distributed with a souvenir ore sample courtesy of Hibbing Chamber of Commerce.

Hibbing is located on the Mesabi Iron Range in Northern Minnesota. It is the home of the largest open-pit iron ore mine in the world.