Who hasn’t seen this wood carving next to the Stage Stop in Mandan? It’s been a landmark since I was a kid. Part of it may be due to its location, or despite its location. Obscured by a power pole and a streetlight in the parking lot of a bar, that’s hardly glamorous. But thousands of people have probably “turned left at the statue” over the past 20 years or so.

I remember riding my bike past this statue when the guy was carving it. His name is Peter Toth, and at the time he claimed he was going to make one of those statues in each of the fifty states. He calls them his “Trail of Tears” series if I remember correctly. Well, he’s made a lot of them. Google “Peter Toth carving” and you’ll get a lot of hits from the states and Canada.

Sadly, no other information popped up on a quick search. Toth was born in Hungary and obviously traveled all over the country making these things, but there’s nothing recent mentioned about him. Did he make all fifty? If you ever find out, let us know.