28 October 2023
ESKO If you head to Duluth on the northbound side of Interstate 35, you might take note of a large brown buffalo statue just a few miles outside the city. This familiar landmark is Burko the Second, a symbol of the restaurant, bar, event center and campground that sit on land known as the Buffalo House and Buffalo Valley.
But how did a buffalo/Western-themed restaurant come to sit on the outskirts of Esko?
The whole restaurant was based on that Western theme. And people came to have a beer and watch the buffalo.
It was due to the direction and drive of George Stoyanoff, a former beer distributor turned restaurant and campground owner. When he saw the land in the 1950s, he envisioned a campground, restaurant, baseball fields, banquet hall, petting zoo and a herd of buffalo. He built his vision from the ground up twice!
The buffalo part of Buffalo House
George built the first Buffalo House with help from family and friends in 1968 and it officially opened in 1972. A fan of all things John Wayne, George decided to raise a herd of buffalo on the grounds outside the Buffalo House.
“The whole restaurant was based on that Western theme,” said Scott Stoyanoff, current owner of the Buffalo House and George’s son. “And people came to have a beer and watch the buffalo.”
For nine years, the buffalo remained at the restaurant with only one or two incidents of them escaping their enclosure. But that changed between December 1976 and January 1977. According to an article from the Duluth News Tribune and Herald from Jan. 1, 1977, George’s herd of 26 renegade buffalo escaped “for the fourth time that week” after being frightened by spectators.
“Instead of marching peacefully off to the feed yard, the buffalo became frightened by a snowmobile and helicopter used to round them up,” the story said. “The result was the buffalo running.”
One of the buffalo was stuck and killed by a vehicle on Interstate 35. All but two were rounded up either that evening or over the next two days. George said at the time that it was “nothing less than a miracle” that they were able to get them fenced in and that their food “seems to act like high-octane gasoline they take off like rockets.”
Two buffalo, their leaders, stayed on the lam for a handful of days while George made moves to sell the herd to interested parties with buffalo herds of their own elsewhere in the state. After selling the herd, George created a small zoo with other animals for a few years such as deer, musk ox and goats.
The fire of 1984
Business continued on as usual after the sale of the buffalo, until a fateful afternoon in March 1984.
“It was on my birthday, March 9, so I remember it well. I was in school then and just turning 15,” Scott said.
According to the Duluth News Tribune and Herald, from a front-page story on March 10, 1984, George went to the restaurant to stoke the wood-burning furnace. When he came back later that afternoon, he “an unusually large amount of smoke coming from the chimney.” He attempted to fight the blaze with a fire extinguisher but had to flee the growing inferno and drive home to call the fire department.
By the time they arrived, the building was engulfed and beyond saving due to a combination of dry timber and the age of the structure.
“It was made from these big white pines, so of course, that really went up like a matchbox,” Scott said. “Afterwards, it was kind of a bleak time. He didn’t know if he’d rebuild at first, but eventually, he decided to. Of course, the year we decided to build was 1991 the year of the October snowstorm.”
Scott and his sister helped run the restaurant once it was rebuilt and opened again in 1993. They were co-owners once George retired until Scott bought the business from her.
The tale of Burko the Second
Back to that statue out front, the 11-foot-tall, 2-ton fiberglass buffalo is named after one of George’s real buffalo that lived in his herd. According to a story he told the News Tribune in 1997, George acquired the buffalo after striking a deal with a driver of the statue en route to deliver it to another location in 1969. It was made in Sparta, Wisconsin, according to its tag.
“I mean, it goes with everything that goes on here,” Scott said. “It’s become kind of iconic, people mention seeing it while they travel on the highway.”
Burko hasn’t been immune to pranks over the years. According to the 1997 story, Burko has been moved four times and had different colors of paint splashed on him at times, usually by high school students from Esko or Carlton. But the buffalo has always returned to its home and the pranks have ceased since Scott started removing the wheels from the trailer where it sits. The statue does make the occasional appearance in local parades as well.
Buffalo House today
A lot has changed about the Buffalo House over the years. At one time, the place was home to six softball fields. The original Buffalo Junction event building had to be rebuilt after snow caused a collapse about a decade ago. More campground space has been added along with new facilities for those staying on the grounds.
“But I think I’ve always kept to his (George’s) vision. I’ve just made things happen, but it was all him back in the day,” Scott said. “It’s a unique place that feels like it’s been under continuous construction for the past 50 years. And I’ll keep on nurturing it for the next 20 or so.”
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