STE. GENEVIEVE — The Sainte Genevieve Museum Learning Center held its grand opening Saturday, December 11 and a major part of the celebration was dedicating the museum as the Official Missouri Dinosaur Visitor Site.
photo by Carol Schwent
Robert Wolk, president of the museum executive board, welcomed the crowd of about 150.
“The original museum began in 1935 as part of the 200th year celebration of Ste. Genevieve. The museum board wanted the museum to thrive and contribute to the livelihood of the community. In 2014 Vern Bauman introduced me to Guy Darrough who had an idea to explore—joining Guy Darrough’s museum collections with the Sainte Genevieve museum and create a learning center. It would be a place where the story of life on earth could be presented from the single cell on up to life today. Where young and old minds could touch and enjoy life on earth. A place that would house life-size dinosaur models and cover ancient civilizations. A place where the beginning of mining and farming could be displayed. After we talked to him, we put together a think tank with a number of community representatives and discussed whether this would be possible. In the fall of 2014, the consensus of the committee was to move forward.
“We hired a firm to help with a capital campaign; hired the architectural firm of Bacon Commercial Design and hired contractor Donze Construction. We’re very proud of the fact that we were able to use all local contractors for this job—Marzuco Electric, Shuh and Sons Plumbing and Heating, Ryan Grass, Arnold Masonry, Creative Touch Wood Products and many more.
“The Darroughs came in and started staging their exhibits with the help of their team–Fred Darrough, Steve Lee, Wes Bradley, and Shane Foulkes.
“At the same time, the Darroughs were involved with their dig site in Bollinger County. They brought professionals like paleontologist Pete Mackavicky, professor at the University of Minnesota and the Chicago Field Museum; and Akiko Shinya, Chief Preparator, Fossil Vertebrates at Chicago Field Museum.
“The dinosaur project has brought a lot attention to Ste. Genevieve and the news has spread around the world. All of which is good for Ste. Genevieve.”
Other speakers:
Ste. Genevieve Mayor, Paul Hassler
“What it means for Ste. Genevieve is the simple fact that it will bring people to our town. A town flourishes when you have people visiting your town. And not only that, but it’s also going to educate and tell a story. That’s what I love about Ste. Genevieve. It’s got a great story. And that’s why we’re blessed to have this museum, the National Park, the Foundation and so many people who work to make things happen in this town so we can all enjoy.”
Ste. Genevieve Tourism Director, Jeff Wix
“I’m new to this position, so what wonderful timing! When I took a tour of this museum, I was just elated because I realized the impact it was going to have especially on our young people. What a great teaching tool. And certainly, we as a community will enjoy everyone coming to visit. Tourism is alive and well in Missouri and no place better than Ste. Genevieve.”
Dale Wright, Missouri State Representative
“What an honor to be here. I took office right after all the heavy lifting had taken place. Many people have put a lot of time and effort into this project. And I have to recognize Representative Rick Francis. The dig site is in his backyard (Francis serves Bollinger, Madison and Perry Counties). This museum is not only good for the community, but it’s also good for our state. It will bring in tourism like we’ve never seen before. Tourism is the number two industry, and this museum will certainly help that. I don’t know of anything that can compare with what we’re experiencing here today. We are living history in just being here. It’s going to be a boon to the economy of Missouri. Thanks to all involved.”
County Commissioner Gary Nelson, and Sandra Cabbot who has worked extensively with the area’s economic development, were both recognized for their work in providing important funding for the museum project.
Next at the podium:
Guy Darrough, Sainte Genevieve Museum Learning Center curator.
“This is something my wife Doris and I have wanted to do for a long time and the folks here really made all this happen. We hope it’s a big learning boon for all the kids who come here to see it. I’ve been traveling with my dinosaurs for 30 years going to botanical gardens, and I can tell you dinosaurs are people magnets, and I’ve always loved them. Now we can officially say, ‘Missouri is dinosaur country.’”
Dr. Peter Makovicky, Curator of Dinosaurs at the Field Museum in Chicago and currently professor at University of Minnesota
“We’ve had the great fortune of standing on the shoulders of giants and we’ve learned from the people who came before us on how to dig this site. It is the best dinosaur locality east of the great plains. It‘s a unique dinosaur species that occurs only here in Missouri. There’s just so much left to learn, and we look forward to coming back and enjoying the hospitality of Ste. Genevieve and continuing our research here. “
Wolk closed with “Our museum board says we should always leave the place we come to better than when we left it. I hope that what you see here today accomplishes that goal.”
The story of the Missouri Dinosaur
The story of the Missouri dinosaur is very long and twisted. By happenstance, in the 1940s the Chronister family in Bollinger County was digging a well and came across a number of bones. As serendipity would have it, there was a geologist nearby, Dan Stewart from the Missouri Geological Survey doing soil studies at the time. He went to look at the clay and immediately knew they were dinosaur bones. He sent them to the Smithsonian and the family was rewarded $50, which they subsequently used to buy a cow. At the Smithsonian, eminent paleontologist Charles Gilmore, identified the bones as a sauropod, a massive plant eating dinosaur he and Stewart named Parrosaurus missouriensis.
In the late 1970s, dinosaur experts again examined the fossils in the Smithsonian and decided it was identical to a Hypsibema crassicauda and they named the Missouri dinosaur Hypsibema missouriense.
The Chronister property was purchased by Bruce Stinchcomb in the 1980s who realized the unique potential of the site. He conducted a series of test excavations to determine if more dinosaur material was present.
Soon after, Guy Darrough and Michael Fix, University of Missouri-St Louis Professor Emeritus, obtained permission from Dr. Stinchcomb to conduct systematic excavation within a greenhouse enclosure and discovered a jaw section and a partial skeleton of a juvenile dinosaur, now on site at the museum in its original jacket.
Darrough then contacted Dr. Peter Makovicky, then Curator of Dinosaurs at the Field Museum in Chicago, to join the search for the Missouri dinosaur. He brought in a crew of scientists and found the bones of a larger dinosaur and concluded they were from a primitive duck billed dinosaur similar to the Iguanodon and should correctly be named Parrosaurus missouriensis, a name originally coined by paleontologist Gilmore.