In the summer of 1858, Victorian gentleman and fossil hobbyist William Parker Foulke was vacationing in Haddonfield, New Jersey, when he heard that twenty years previous, workers had found gigantic bones in a local marl pit. Foulke spent the the late summer and fall directing a crew of hired diggers shin deep in gray slime. Eventually he found the bones (above, right) of an animal larger than an elephant with structural features of both a lizard and a bird.
First Nearly-Complete Dinosaur Skeleton
Foulke had discovered the first nearly-complete skeleton of a dinosaur -- an event that would rock the scientific world and forever change our view of natural history.
Today, located where a tidy suburban street dead ends against deep woods, the historic site is marked with a modest commemorative stone (above, left) and a tiny landscaped park. Just beyond the stone the ground drops away into the steep ravine where the bones of Hadrosaurus foulkii were originally excavated on the eve of the Civil War.
The "Ground Zero" of Dinosaur Paleontology
In relation to the history of dinosaur paleontology, this Haddonfield Hadrosaurus site is ground zero; the spot where our collective fascination with dinosaurs began. Visitors can still climb down crude paths into the 30-foot, vine-entangled chasm to stand in an almost primordial quiet at the actual marl pit where the imagination of all mankind was exploded outward to embrace the stunning fact that our planet was once ruled by fantastically large, bizarrely shaped reptilian creatures.
The following excerpts come from the Smithsonian Inventory page for this marker.
SOURCE
Inscription
"(On relief plaque, raised lettering:) HADROSAURUS FOULKII/IN A MARL PIT ON THE JOHN E. HOPKINS FARM IN/OCTOBER 1858, THE WORLD'S FIRST NEARLY COMPLETE/DINOSAUR SKELETON WAS UNEARTHED BY WILLIAM/PARKER FOULKE. THE FIND WAS ADJACENT TO THIS POINT./THIS WAS ALSO THE FIRST DINOSAUR SKELETON TO EVER BE/MOUNTED. THE BONES REPRESENTED A 25 FOOT, 7-8 TON/HERBIVOROUS HADROSAURUS (REPTILE), ITS HEIGHT PROBABLY/RANGED FROM 6-10 FEET AT THE HIPS. SOME 55 OF AN/ESTIMATED 80 BONES WERE DISCOVERED. THIS CREATURE/LIVED 70-80 MILLION YEARS AGO DURING THE CRETACEOUS/PERIOD AT THE END OF THE DINOSAUR AGE./THIS SITE WAS DEVELOPED IN 1984 AS AN EAGLE SCOUT PROJECT/BY CHRISTOPHER BREES, TROOP 65,/MAJOR PROJECT FUNDED BY THE/ACADEMY OF NATURAL SCIENCES, PHILADELPHIA, PA"
Description
"A plaque with image of Hadrosaurus Foulkii dinosaur and text related to discovery of first nearly complete dinosaur skeleton, unearthed in modern times. The dinosaur walks in a nearly horizontal position on hind legs in proper right profile. It has a long tail and small front legs. The plaque is attached to an irregularly-shaped boulder."
Remarks
"The plaque marks the spot where bones of a dinosaur, Hadrosaurus Foulkii, were found in 1858 by lawyer William Parker Foulke. The idea for a marker originated with the artist Chris Brees, as an Eagle Scout Project. The project was funded by the Academy of Natural Sciences (Philadelphia) and community groups. Work began in 1984 and the site was dedicated as a National Historic Landmark by the National Park Service on Oct. 26, 1995. IAS files contain related articles from the New York Times (New Jersey Edition), Metro, Nov. 27, 1994, pg. 58, and the Star-Ledger, Oct. 27, 1995, pg. 2."