Mt. Blanco Fossil Museum
Encyclopedia
The Mt. Blanco Fossil Museum is a creationist museum in Crosbyton, Texas
, opened in 1998. Its motto is "Digging up the facts of God's Creation: One fossil at a time."
The warehouse-sized museum contains a mixture of fossil
ized skeletons and cast replicas. The replicas include a juvenile Triceratops
, a full-sized mastodon
skeleton, the largest hadrosaur leg ever found, and the world's largest ice age bison skull. Real bones displayed include the head of a metoposaur, and once included the world's largest four-tusked mastodon
skull.
The museum also bases the Mount Blanco fossil excavation team who go on "digs" and investigate fossil evidence according to a creationist view. The museum has collaborated with Carl Baugh
of the Creation Evidence Museum
in Glen Rose, Texas
, in casting alleged mixed human and dinosaur footprints. Those prints have been strongly criticized as incorrectly identified dinosaur prints, other fossils, or outright forgeries.
church. He worked as a commercial artist in Hollywood, California, on billboards on the Sunset Strip
, magazine illustrations, the lettering on the original Mr. Pibb soda cans, and many album covers, which still fill a room in the museum. He became interested in fossils after cleaning and preparing bones at the La Brea tar pits
, and made a 10-foot-by-40-foot casting of the Waco, Texas
mammoth site, now on exhibit at Baylor University
. He returned to Texas in 1984, to make a living as a fossil collector and mold-maker. In 1986, he painted a 40 feet long and 10 feet high mural of the history of Crosbyton for the nearby Crosby County Pioneer Memorial Museum.
. It was in pieces, and acquiring and assembling the skull took the museum a year and a half, and $141,000. The skull weighed 700 pounds, and was almost the size of a Volkswagen
. It was named "Lone Star", and became the centerpiece of the museum.
However, in 2001 and 2002, Taylor and the Mount Blanco fossil excavation team had cooperated with another team in excavating the skeleton of an Allosaurus
outside Dinosaur, Colorado
. The exact nature of each team's contributions became contentious, and the groups argued publicly until an agreement in April 2004, which awarded Taylor $124,843 out of $200,000 for his share of the Allosaurus, and committed all parties to refrain from disparaging the others. Over the next three years, Taylor continued to disparage the other side on the Internet, resulting in a fine of $136,000 in damages.
On January 20, 2008, as the sheriff's department was preparing to force the sale of the museum to pay the fine, the Mt. Blanco Fossil Museum auctioned off the prize exhibit of its collection. The world's largest mastodon skull was auctioned with Heritage Auctions
of Dallas, and sold for $191,200, of which Taylor received $128,000, enabling the museum to stay open.
Crosbyton, Texas
Crosbyton is a city in and the county seat of Crosby County, Texas, United States. The population was 1,874 at the 2000 census. Crosbyton is part of the Lubbock Metropolitan Statistical Area....
, opened in 1998. Its motto is "Digging up the facts of God's Creation: One fossil at a time."
The warehouse-sized museum contains a mixture of fossil
Fossil
Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...
ized skeletons and cast replicas. The replicas include a juvenile Triceratops
Triceratops
Triceratops is a genus of herbivorous ceratopsid dinosaur which lived during the late Maastrichtian stage of the Late Cretaceous Period, around 68 to 65 million years ago in what is now North America. It was one of the last dinosaur genera to appear before the great Cretaceous–Paleogene...
, a full-sized mastodon
Mastodon
Mastodons were large tusked mammal species of the extinct genus Mammut which inhabited Asia, Africa, Europe, North America and Central America from the Oligocene through Pleistocene, 33.9 mya to 11,000 years ago. The American mastodon is the most recent and best known species of the group...
skeleton, the largest hadrosaur leg ever found, and the world's largest ice age bison skull. Real bones displayed include the head of a metoposaur, and once included the world's largest four-tusked mastodon
Mastodon
Mastodons were large tusked mammal species of the extinct genus Mammut which inhabited Asia, Africa, Europe, North America and Central America from the Oligocene through Pleistocene, 33.9 mya to 11,000 years ago. The American mastodon is the most recent and best known species of the group...
skull.
The museum also bases the Mount Blanco fossil excavation team who go on "digs" and investigate fossil evidence according to a creationist view. The museum has collaborated with Carl Baugh
Carl Baugh
Carl Edward Baugh is an American young earth creationist. Along with others, Baugh has said he discovered human alongside dinosaur footprints near the Paluxy River in Texas. Baugh is a national television host, purporting to present science supporting creationism on the program Creation in the...
of the Creation Evidence Museum
Creation Evidence Museum
The Creation Evidence Museum, originally Creation Evidences Museum, is a museum in Glen Rose in Somervell County in central Texas, USA. Founded in 1984 by Carl Baugh for the purpose of researching and displaying purported evidence for creationism, the museum purports to show that the Earth is only...
in Glen Rose, Texas
Glen Rose, Texas
Glen Rose is a city in Somervell County, Texas, United States. It is the county seat of Somervell County. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 2,444. Glen Rose is part of the Granbury micropolitan area.-19th century:...
, in casting alleged mixed human and dinosaur footprints. Those prints have been strongly criticized as incorrectly identified dinosaur prints, other fossils, or outright forgeries.
Joe Taylor
Its owner, director, and curator is Joe Taylor (b circa 1945) who was an artist-turned-expert in making castings of ancient bones. Taylor was born to a farm family in Crosbyton, and was raised in the Primitive BaptistPrimitive Baptist
Primitive Baptists, also known as Hard Shell Baptists or Anti-Mission Baptists, are conservative, Calvinist Baptists adhering to beliefs that formed out of the controversy among Baptists in the early 1800’s over the appropriateness of mission boards, bible tract societies, and temperance...
church. He worked as a commercial artist in Hollywood, California, on billboards on the Sunset Strip
Sunset Strip
The Sunset Strip is the name given to the mile-and-a-half stretch of Sunset Boulevard that passes through West Hollywood, California. It extends from West Hollywood's eastern border with Hollywood at Harper Avenue, to its western border with Beverly Hills at Sierra Drive...
, magazine illustrations, the lettering on the original Mr. Pibb soda cans, and many album covers, which still fill a room in the museum. He became interested in fossils after cleaning and preparing bones at the La Brea tar pits
La Brea Tar Pits
The La Brea Tar Pits are a cluster of tar pits around which Hancock Park was formed, in the urban heart of Los Angeles. Asphaltum or tar has seeped up from the ground in this area for tens of thousands of years. The tar is often covered with water...
, and made a 10-foot-by-40-foot casting of the Waco, Texas
Waco, Texas
Waco is a city in and the county seat of McLennan County, Texas. Situated along the Brazos River and on the I-35 corridor, halfway between Dallas and Austin, it is the economic, cultural, and academic center of the 'Heart of Texas' region....
mammoth site, now on exhibit at Baylor University
Baylor University
Baylor University is a private, Christian university located in Waco, Texas. Founded in 1845, Baylor is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.-History:...
. He returned to Texas in 1984, to make a living as a fossil collector and mold-maker. In 1986, he painted a 40 feet long and 10 feet high mural of the history of Crosbyton for the nearby Crosby County Pioneer Memorial Museum.
"Lone Star" mastodon skull
The largest mastodon skull on record was found in February 2004 in a gravel pit near La Grange, TexasLa Grange, Texas
La Grange is a city in Fayette County, Texas, near the Colorado River. The population was 4,478 at the 2000 census. The 2006 estimated population was 4,645. But a 2010 census estimated that the city had a population of 4,923...
. It was in pieces, and acquiring and assembling the skull took the museum a year and a half, and $141,000. The skull weighed 700 pounds, and was almost the size of a Volkswagen
Volkswagen
Volkswagen is a German automobile manufacturer and is the original and biggest-selling marque of the Volkswagen Group, which now also owns the Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, SEAT, and Škoda marques and the truck manufacturer Scania.Volkswagen means "people's car" in German, where it is...
. It was named "Lone Star", and became the centerpiece of the museum.
However, in 2001 and 2002, Taylor and the Mount Blanco fossil excavation team had cooperated with another team in excavating the skeleton of an Allosaurus
Allosaurus
Allosaurus is a genus of large theropod dinosaur that lived 155 to 150 million years ago during the late Jurassic period . The name Allosaurus means "different lizard". It is derived from the Greek /allos and /sauros...
outside Dinosaur, Colorado
Dinosaur, Colorado
The Town of Dinosaur is a Statutory Town located in Moffat County, Colorado, United States. The town population was 320 at the U.S. Census 2000....
. The exact nature of each team's contributions became contentious, and the groups argued publicly until an agreement in April 2004, which awarded Taylor $124,843 out of $200,000 for his share of the Allosaurus, and committed all parties to refrain from disparaging the others. Over the next three years, Taylor continued to disparage the other side on the Internet, resulting in a fine of $136,000 in damages.
On January 20, 2008, as the sheriff's department was preparing to force the sale of the museum to pay the fine, the Mt. Blanco Fossil Museum auctioned off the prize exhibit of its collection. The world's largest mastodon skull was auctioned with Heritage Auctions
Heritage Auctions
Heritage Auction Galleries is the world's largest collectibles auctioneer and the third largest auction house, with over $700 million in annual sales and 600,000 online bidder-members...
of Dallas, and sold for $191,200, of which Taylor received $128,000, enabling the museum to stay open.
External links
- Raising the Truth — Joe Taylor's side of the Allosaur excavation dispute