NKyTribune staff
The Big Bone Lick State Historic Site is celebrating the completion of a four-year revitalization of the visitor center.
Left to right, Glenn Storrs, associate vice president for collections and research at Cincinnati Museum Center, Pat Fox, president of Friends of Big Bone and Donnie Holland, Kentucky State Parks commissioner, at Thursday’s dedication ceremony. The three phases of the project are included in the photo. At left is a skeletal reconstruction of a Harlan’s Ground Sloth, at right is a a full-size reproduction of a Bison antiquus. The nine thematic cases in the background cover the site’s history and prehistory, from the Ordovician era (photos by Mark Hansel).
The mammoth undertaking was spearheaded by the Friends of Big Bone in partnership with Big Bone Lick State Historic Site and Cincinnati Museum Center (CMC).
Completed in three phases, the visitor center makeover now tells the site’s historic narrative in a more vivid and engaging way. The Friends of Big Bone, Big Bone Lick and CMC celebrated the completion of the project Thursday, with remarks and the public’s first opportunity to see the new visitor center.
For centuries people have recognized the importance of Big Bone Lick. Since its discovery in 1739 it has drawn the attention of notable European naturalists and America’s founding fathers.
The first organized paleontological excavation in North America was conducted there in 1807 by William Clark (of Lewis and Clark fame) at the request of Thomas Jefferson. The giant bones of extinct animals found there in the 18th and 19th centuries created intense interest and discussion in the emerging scientific community. The study of the “big bones” fed the development of new concepts such as extinction, climate change and evolution.
“Big Bone Lick has figured prominently in the history of science and in the history of our country,” says Glenn Storrs, PhD, associate vice president for collections and research and Withrow Farny curator of vertebrate paleontology at Cincinnati Museum Center. “With the revitalization of the visitor center, we hope residents of our region will more easily appreciate the significance of this local treasure that is famous around the world.”
In 2014, the Friends of Big Bone began a project to more effectively tell the story of Big Bone Lick by revitalizing the visitor center.
Phase I of the project involved the installation of nine thematic cases designed and installed by CMC. The cases cover the site’s history and prehistory, from the undersea world of the Ordovician era nearly 450 million years ago to the massive mammals of the Pleistocene era (also known as the Ice Age) to the modern day. Phase I was completed in May 2015.
A skeletal reconstruction of a Harlan’s Ground Sloth, with an inset closeup of the creature’s head (click to enlarge).
Pat Fox, president of Friends of Big Bone said a year was dedicated just to raising money to get the project off the ground.
“The R.C. Durr Foundation funded us up front $70,000 for the thematic cases and they would match dollar-for-dollar, the amount of money that we would raise,” Fox said. “Prior to the project, people would come in and look at things and not understand. There were some pieces here, but not a lot of information to educate visitors,” Fox said.
In June 2016, Phase II of the project was completed and featured a large diorama behind a full-size reproduction of a Bison antiquus, ancestor of the modern, smaller American bison. The Bison antiquus, which were regularly hunted by Paleo-Indians, stood over seven feet tall and weighed more than 3500 pounds but died out 10,000 years ago.
“The second phase was important, so that people could understand why there is a bison herd here at the park,” Fox said. “Often they think it’s kind of a cute thing, but it’s very realistic in that the bison have always been here.”
The just-completed Phase III, the final step of the revitalization is a skeletal reconstruction of a Harlan’s Ground Sloth. The first Harlan’s Ground Sloth, a Pleistocene mammal that stood nine feet tall and weighed over a ton, was discovered at Big Bone Lick in the 1840s, making it a fitting capstone to the revitalization project.
“This was the place where the Harlan’s Ground Sloth bones were first discovered and from that point people would compare other bones to see if what they found was the Harlan’s ground sloth,” Fox said.
Big Bone continues to reveal its secrets to this day. In June of this year, following heavy rains, a bone was unearthed that was determined to be a tibia from a Harlan’s Ground Sloth. The bone, a remarkably intact specimen, was included in the new display.
Donnie Holland, Kentucky State Parks commissioner said he has visited all 49 of the State Parks, but Big Bone is the most fun.
“With the improvements we see today, this park can now dramatically tell the story of this area and draw visitors from all over to explain why we call this the birthplace of American paleontology,” Holland said.
Holland said the Visitors Center is a tribute to the efforts of the Friends of Big Bone and the other community partners who have worked tirelessly to bring the three-phase project to fruition.
“It always amazes me to know the size of the ‘critters’ that used to be around this area,” Holland said. “Thank you so much for what you’ve done here to increase the visibility of this park and to help our children be educated.”
Big Bone Lick State Historic Site is located at 3380 Beaver Road, in Union. For more information, click here .
