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A 15.5-by-18.5-foot statue of a whitetail buck leaping over a log stands in Elmer Park beside Highway 6 in Deerwood, Minnesota. Mpls.St.Paul Magazine reported in 2026 that it has stood in the town since 1977.
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Leaping Deer
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Site-level location · 46.4735° N, 93.8996° W
FIELD GUIDE
The story
Deerwood, Minnesota, is named for its deer, and its roadside statue makes the point: a whitetail buck frozen mid-leap over a log. Mpls.St.Paul Magazine, in a 2026 feature on the state's big statues, gives its size as 15.5 by 18.5 feet and says it has been leaping through town since 1977, now in Elmer Park.
The town was first called Withington, from 1871 to 1881. According to city officials quoted by the Brainerd Dispatch in 2022, it was confused with Worthington in southern Minnesota, and because it was known for its whitetail deer it was renamed Deerwood.
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WHAT TO EXPECT
Dressed in blaze orange for deer season, according to the Brainerd Dispatch (2021 photo).
ACCESS
Elmer Park, beside Highway 6 in Deerwood, Crow Wing County, Minnesota. The statue is outdoors and visible from the highway (Minnesota Prairie Roots, 2021). Outdoors in a city park beside the highway.
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