Bemidji is also the self-proclaimed "curling capital" of the U.S. and the alleged birthplace of legendary Paul Bunyan.

Freeman and Besty Doud claimed 160 acres west of and including present-day Diamond Point; they were Bemidji's first homesteaders.

John Steidl's sawmill was on the east bank of the Mississippi River, close to Carson's Trading Post.

Remore Hotel and Carl Carlson's blacksmith shop were on the west side of the river.

William Bartleson's Stage and Express Service was created to carry mail between Bemidji and Park Rapids.

Thomas Barlow Walker and John S. and Charles Pillsbury invested millions into timber in 1874, since beaver pelts were nearing depletion by the mid-1890s.

Walker owned Red River Lumber Company of Crookston, which claimed almost half of Beltrami County's timber.

Crookston opened 13 logging camps, which provided jobs and homes for lumberjacks.

Lumber production was Bemidji's major industry, but on July 19, 1914, a sawmill burned down, causing disaster for business.

By the 1870s, timber cruisers were already making forays into the great pine forests that surrounded Bemidji.

They were seeking new timberlands for Walker, the Pillsburys, Henry Akeley, Charles Ruggles and Frederick Weyerhaeuser, the barons of the wood industry.

Art Lee created the story that the folkloric figure Paul Bunyan came from the Northwoods.

Tales about Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox led to public sculptures of them in the 1930s.

[14] The Rotarians of Bemidji commissioned the statue of Paul Bunyan during the Great Depression as a tourist attraction.

Today Bemidji is an important educational, governmental, trade and medical center for north central Minnesota.

Each year an event is held where families and individuals can bike around the lake, with rest stops along the way.

A variety of items are sold, made in such materials as wood and ceramics, along with clothing and jewelry, photography, metalworking, greeting cards, homemade preserves, food, candles, and soaps.

In the early 21st century, dragon boat racing was the fastest growing water sport in the nation.

[22] The epicenter was about 95 miles (153 km) away in Staples, Minnesota, and it affected an area of 48,000 square kilometres (19,000 sq mi); it had a magnitude 4.4 with a maximum intensity of VI to VII.

[citation needed] Annual snowfall in the Bemidji Area increased 5% in the 21st century vs. the 1930–1999 period, according to the National Weather Service.

Bemidji's government is made up of a mayor and a council, with the latter elected from five single-member districts or wards.

They have supported several language conversational groups (including French, Chinese, Norwegian, Spanish, Italian, and German) that meet weekly in local coffeehouses.

[54] The statues of Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox are popular tourist destinations, and people photograph themselves in front of them.

The center also includes many artifacts of the lumberjack's legend and a giant visitors' book in which travelers can sign their names; the list of signatures goes back decades.

Pete Fenson, the skip of the U.S. curling team that took the bronze medal at the 2006 Olympics, is a native of Bemidji, as is Natalie Nicholson, who was the lead for the United States women's team at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

[citation needed] A city referendum for a Bemidji Regional Events Center passed by a slim majority of 43 votes out of 4,583 cast in November 2006.

From 2014 to 2015, the Sanford Center was the home of the city's first-ever professional sports team, the Bemidji Axemen of the Indoor Football League.

The race, run in October, draws athletes and recreational runners from around the region.

Lexington Realty International places the Bemidji Area population at 200,259 in the 2021 Estimate.

[58] The Bemidji Pioneer is the local newspaper, published twice weekly on Wednesday and Saturday.