Then there was the American Mastodon, Mammut americanum. Just another elephant you say ?
Hill-Stead’s Mastodon Discovery! -...
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© Connecticut Explored Inc. Hill-Stead’s Mastodon Discovery! The workers had a big secret. They’d found something while digging a ditch on a grand estate in Farmington. It was August 26, 1913. Connecticut was in a drought. The workers had been hired to dig a trench to drain water from a swamp into a small reservoir. At first, the workers thought they’d hit a tree stump. They tried to break it up. The story goes that either the estate’s manager or his son thought the roots looked like bone. They reported their suspicions to the estate’s owner. Theodate Pope was one of our nation’s first female architects. She designed and built the estate, called Hill-Stead, for her parents. The large house, built in 1901, sat on a hill. It overlooked 250 acres of fields and forest. Her father’s art collection hung inside the house. Pope decided to call an expert. Charles Schuchert was in charge of the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History in New Haven. He was a paleontologist. He studied and collected fossils. Schuchert came to Hill-Stead. He was amazed by what he saw. The workers had found fossil bones of an ancient mastodon! It was a rare find. Schuchert sent scientists from the museum to look for more bones. Soon the secret got out. The Hartford Post ran a news story on September 5. Two days later, 800 people came to watch the scientists search for more bones. The Hartford Courant covered the discovery. Newspapers as far
Transcript of Hill-Stead’s Mastodon Discovery! -...
©ConnecticutExploredInc.
Hill-Stead’sMastodonDiscovery!
Theworkershadabigsecret.They’dfoundsomethingwhilediggingaditchonagrandestateinFarmington.
ItwasAugust26,1913.Connecticutwasinadrought.Theworkershadbeenhiredtodigatrenchtodrainwaterfromaswampintoasmallreservoir.
Atfirst,theworkersthoughtthey’dhitatreestump.Theytriedtobreakitup.Thestorygoesthateithertheestate’smanagerorhissonthoughttherootslookedlikebone.Theyreportedtheirsuspicionstotheestate’sowner.
TheodatePopewasoneofournation’sfirstfemalearchitects.Shedesignedandbuilttheestate,calledHill-Stead,forherparents.Thelargehouse,builtin1901,satonahill.Itoverlooked250acresoffields
andforest.Herfather’sartcollectionhunginsidethehouse.
Popedecidedtocallanexpert.CharlesSchuchertwasinchargeoftheYalePeabodyMuseumofNaturalHistoryinNewHaven.Hewasapaleontologist.Hestudiedandcollectedfossils.
SchuchertcametoHill-Stead.Hewasamazedbywhathesaw.Theworkershadfoundfossilbonesofanancientmastodon!Itwasararefind.Schuchertsentscientistsfromthemuseumtolookformorebones.
Soonthesecretgotout.TheHartfordPostrananewsstoryonSeptember5.Twodayslater,800peoplecametowatchthescientistssearchformorebones.TheHartfordCourantcoveredthediscovery.Newspapersasfar
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awayasColoradoandMinnesotadid,too.Guardswerehiredtoprotectthesiteandafencewasbuilt.Over2,000peoplevisitedinoneweek.
Mostofthemastodon’sskeletonwassoonfoundnearby.Then,inNovember,atuskwasdiscoveredashortdistanceaway.Theskeletonwasnicknamed“OldLongtooth.”
Latertestsestimatethemastodonfossilboneswere12,000to14,000yearsold.In1913itwasthemostcompletemastodonskeletonfoundinNewEngland.Itisn’ttheonlymastodonfoundinConnecticut,though.OthershavebeenfoundinNewBritain,Sharon,Bristol,andCheshire.
Today“OldLongtooth”isinstorageattheConnecticut
StateMuseumofNaturalHistory.Itwaitsforatimewhenitwillonceagaindrawabigcrowd.
Captions:
Top:Fossiloflowerjawbone,1913.Hill-SteadMuseum.From“MastodonFrenzy,”ConnecticutExplored,Winter2007/2008;middle:MastodonbonesfoundatHill-SteadinFarmington,1913.LibraryofCongress;bottom:FrederickCook,sonofHill-Stead’sestatemanager,withmastodontusk,1913.Hill-SteadMuseum.From“MastodonFrenzy,”ConnecticutExplored,Winter2007/2008;nextpage:Mastadonamericanus,NewburgMastadon,1900-1935.Mammoths,mastadons,andotherlargemammalsfromtheLateCenozoicwerecollectedinIdahoandondisplayattheSmithsonianInstitution,1900-1935.ImagetakenfromlanternslidesfoundintheDivisionofVertebratePaleontologyRecords.Thisstoryisbasedon:
“MastodonFrenzy,”byElizabethCollins,ConnecticutExplored,Winter2007/2008,http://ctexplored.org/mastodon-discovery-in-farmington/
©ConnecticutExploredInc.
“RadiocarbonDateoftheFarmington/PopeMastodon,Connecticut”byMatthewBoulangerandBrianJones,FriendsoftheOfficeofStateArchaeology,fosa-ct.org/Reprints/Fall2015_Mastodon.htm
“AMSRadiocarbonDatefortheNewBritainYWCAMastodon,”byMatthewBoulanger,ArchaeologicalSocietyofConnecticutNews,September2014,connarchaeology.org/ASCNews236.pdf
Glossary
Droughtalongperiodofdryweather
Estatealargecountryhouseonalargepieceofland
Fossiltheremainsofaplantoranimalofapastagepreservedinearthorrock
Paleontologistascientistwhostudiesthehistoryoftheearthanditslifeespeciallythroughfossils
Reservoiranartificialornaturallakewherewateriscollectedasawatersupply
