Mt. Blanco Fossil Museum, Fossil museum in Crosbyton, Texas, US
Mt. Blanco Fossil Museum was a fossil museum in Crosbyton that displayed bones, mounted skeletons, and replicas of prehistoric creatures from West Texas. The collection was organized in glass-fronted display cases showing a range of specimens from different species and time periods.
Joe Taylor opened the museum in 1998 in Crosbyton. In 2008 its centerpiece, the "Lone Star" mastodon skull found near La Grange in 2004, was auctioned for $191,200 to pay a court fine; Taylor received $128,000 and kept the museum open. It closed permanently in 2023 after Taylor died on March 5.
The museum presented fossils from a biblical perspective, offering exhibits that reflected a particular worldview about Earth's ancient past. Visitors encountered interpretations of discoveries that differed from those in conventional natural history museums.
The museum closed permanently in 2023 after the death of founder Joe Taylor on March 5, 2023, so there are no visiting hours or admission. Its building in Crosbyton, on the Texas Plains east of Lubbock, is not open to the public. Anyone planning a trip should confirm the closure before travelling.
The museum's centrepiece was "Lone Star", the largest mastodon skull on record, found in a gravel pit near La Grange, Texas, in February 2004. It weighed 700 pounds and took a year and a half and $141,000 to acquire and assemble. In 2008 it was auctioned for $191,200 to pay a court fine, keeping the museum open.
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