CARL JUNCTION, Mo. —
After 120 years, Carl Junction once again has a mammoth skeleton.
OK, so the one on display at the Community Center is made of foam. But it is representative, said its creator, Marv Dahmen, of the mammoth fossils found in a mine on land belonging to Carl Junction businessman Silas A. Stuckey in 1892.
Other mammoth fossils have been found in every county in Missouri, Dahmen said, as it was here the enormous Ice Age beasts wound up. They were pushed south by mile-thick glaciers from the upper reaches of Canada.
According to historical reports, the fossilized remains of two adult and two infant extinct species, Elephas Americanus, were discovered at the 20-foot level of Stuckey’s mine on the south end of Carl Junction.
In 1893, the fossils would be taken to the University of St. Louis where they were cleaned and assembled, then on to the Columbian Exposition of the Chicago World’s Fair where one was reputed to be one of the largest ever found.
Dubbed the “Columbian mammoths,” their discovery was made at the cusp of several significant dinosaur fossil discoveries in Utah and Colorado. Those discoveries led to a national craze with all things prehistoric.
What happened to the mammoth skeletons is a mystery, said Dahmen, a retired Carl Junction art teacher of 26 years who also has nurtured a lifelong passion for rocks, minerals and mining.
He speculated the craze for fossils may have led to their sale by Stuckey, perhaps netting him as much as $100,000 — or about $900,000 in today’s currency.
“He owned a hardware store on a dirt street,” said Dahmen. “Is it possible he sold them? Maybe. If they went to a private collection, the trail would have been lost. But museums are careful; they want bones and they want the story.”
Regardless, Dahmen doesn’t believe they are in the U.S., speculating that they instead wound up in Europe and won’t be back to Carl Junction anytime in the foreseeable future.
Gary Stubblefield, president of the Carl Junction Chamber of Commerce, had been hoping against hope that one day those mammoth bones would make their way home and perhaps serve as a catalyst to create an historical museum.
Last year, the community began an Historical Preservation Committee, so when Stubblefield learned of Dahmen’s mammoth replica, he was eager to offer it a home.
Dahmen created the 13-foot, life-size sculpture years ago to display at an exhibit at the George A. Spiva Center of the Arts. To create it, he purchased a child’s model mammoth kit at the hobby store and photographed each piece. He then projected the images onto a 13- by 26-foot piece of paper, and traced the outlines of every bone onto pieces of foam.
After cutting them out with an electric knife, he used a wire wheel grinder to sculpt them, then assembled them on welded steel tubing.
Since then, the mammoth has made outings to the Joplin Holiday Inn, a grocery store and even a parade, but in recent history has made its home in storage at the Community Bank & Trust.
Stubblefield hopes it spurs interest in both the history of Carl Junction and the Historic Preservation Committee. A group of fourth-graders will be the mammoth’s first official field trip visitors.
“I’m excited,” said Stubblefield. “This will help tell our story.”
On display
Also on display at the Community Center is a display of mammoth bone fossils, minerals and mining artifacts from Dahmen’s personal collection.
Local News
Related Photos
-
Gary Stubblefield (left), president of the Carl Junction Chamber of Commerce, assists Marv Dahmen in assembling a replica mammoth skeleton at the Carl Junction Community Center. ANDRA BRYAN STEFANONI
-
A mammoth bone found at Platte River is part of Marv Dahmen's collection, which is on display a the Carl Junction Community Center. ANDRA BRYAN STEFANONI
Discussion
Mammoth skeleton replica displayed at CJ Community Center
- Local News
-
-
Neosho Board of Education approves 10 percent raise in effort to keep custodians
School custodians are receiving the biggest percentage raise among salaries approved Monday by the Neosho Board of Education.
-
Jasper County to start enforcing newly-adopted nuisance ordinance
Jasper County has received 15 complaints based on a nuisance ordinance adopted earlier this year, members of the Jasper County Commission said Tuesday.
-
Woman admits role in prearranged funeral fraud
A St. Louis County woman has admitted to a role in a pre-arranged funeral scam that allegedly bilked customers out of as much as $600 million.
-
Carthage School Board OKs $45 million budget
A proposed budget that sets Carthage School District spending at $45.7 million for the fiscal year starting July 1 was approved by the Carthage School Board on Monday night. The budget represents an increase of almost 3.5 percent over spending in the current year’s budget. It also includes additional teaching positions and increases in staff pay, said Superintendent Blaine Henningson.
-
MSSU board to complete terms of president’s departure
The Board of Governors of Missouri Southern State University will meet Wednesday to complete the terms of the agreement that terminated President Bruce Speck’s contract, board Chairwoman Sherry Buchanan said.
-
State’s key witness testifies in murder trial
The fate of Dustin Boggs may ultimately depend on the credibility of Arturo Council. If jurors believe Council, then Boggs, 25, could be convicted of first-degree murder in the 2012 stabbing and shooting death of his ex-girlfriend, Danyel Borden, 21, at his trial this week in Ottawa County District Court.
-
Swimmers attempt to set world record
Even before the instructor had finished giving his direction to the class of young swimmers, 4-year-old Alexa DeBerry had dunked herself underwater and had come up giggling.
-
Jasper County to start enforcing newly adopted nuisance ordinance
Jasper County has received 15 complaints based on a new nuisance ordinance adopted earlier this spring, members of the County Commission said Tuesday. John Bartosh, presiding commissioner, said he and the other commissioners reviewed the complaints during a meeting last week with workers at the Jasper County Health Department.
-
Neosho School Board votes to boost custodians’ salaries
Action taken Monday night by the Neosho Board of Education on salaries was designed partly to retain custodians. The measure approved by the board gives custodians, with a starting salary of $8.77 an hour, a 10 percent raise.
-
Mike Pound: Carthage holding parties for a good cause
When my wife told me that we were going to host a party, I had only one question: Why? My wife might be the party-hosting sort of person, but I am not. She said this party was for a good cause. She also told me that our friends Lana and Bill, Lee Ann and Rob, and Amy and Jimmy were going to help host it.
- More Local News Headlines
-
Neosho Board of Education approves 10 percent raise in effort to keep custodians
