Cabin Built from Fossilised Dinosaur Bones
Image from Panoramio is by jawink
Image from Panoramio is by Leo Weber
This simple looking cabin is unique in America and perhaps also unique in the World. The cabin though constructed in early 1930s is also known as "the world's oldest cabin" because it is made of very very ancient building material - Fossilized Dinosaur Bones. It contains 5,796 pieces of bones recovered from nearby Como Bluff, the site of some of the most important dinosaur discoveries in the world.
Located near Medicine Bow, Wyoming, it was constructed by Thomas Boylan around 1932-33, owner of the adjacent service stop, who assembled it from bones he'd been collecting for some 17 years. Initially he had planned the collection to assemble giant dinosaurs as a roadside attraction for his service station. To his dismay he was told by experts that the fossilized bones were from varied species and there appeared to be no complete specimen in the entire pile. He therefore dropped the idea and helped by his young son, Boylan began building the 29 feet long, 19-foot wide cabin in 1932. The two completed the job in time for the "tourist season" the next year.
The site gained national attention when on April 26, 1938; Robert L. Ripley ran a story about the cabin in his nationally syndicated feature, "Believe It or Not." Ripley called it the "world's oldest cabin." Boylan erected a sign describing the Ripley designation, but he also variously called the cabin, the "Creation Museum," the "World's Oldest Building," and even the "Building That Used to Walk."
After Thomas death his widow sold the fossil cabin in 1974 to the current owner, Jodie Fultz, and her late husband Paul. The structure, still privately operated and still "the world's oldest cabin," is open for an admission charge. It is reportedly on sale again and may be moved away from the location.
The building however was listed in 2008 on the National Register of Historic Places.
Source of Info: The Builder of the "World's Oldest Cabin" University of Wyoming
View in Google Earth Google Maps and Street View
I am thankful to Jeff Winkelhake for sending this interesting link about the Como Bluff.
Located near Medicine Bow, Wyoming, it was constructed by Thomas Boylan around 1932-33, owner of the adjacent service stop, who assembled it from bones he'd been collecting for some 17 years. Initially he had planned the collection to assemble giant dinosaurs as a roadside attraction for his service station. To his dismay he was told by experts that the fossilized bones were from varied species and there appeared to be no complete specimen in the entire pile. He therefore dropped the idea and helped by his young son, Boylan began building the 29 feet long, 19-foot wide cabin in 1932. The two completed the job in time for the "tourist season" the next year.
The site gained national attention when on April 26, 1938; Robert L. Ripley ran a story about the cabin in his nationally syndicated feature, "Believe It or Not." Ripley called it the "world's oldest cabin." Boylan erected a sign describing the Ripley designation, but he also variously called the cabin, the "Creation Museum," the "World's Oldest Building," and even the "Building That Used to Walk."
After Thomas death his widow sold the fossil cabin in 1974 to the current owner, Jodie Fultz, and her late husband Paul. The structure, still privately operated and still "the world's oldest cabin," is open for an admission charge. It is reportedly on sale again and may be moved away from the location.
The building however was listed in 2008 on the National Register of Historic Places.
Source of Info: The Builder of the "World's Oldest Cabin" University of Wyoming
View in Google Earth Google Maps and Street View
I am thankful to Jeff Winkelhake for sending this interesting link about the Como Bluff.
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