Workers at first believed they were large tree trunks. They were taken to Carnegie Mellon University where it was determined they were, in fact, those of woolly mammoths and mastodons. The bones were housed at Allegheny College until the early 2000s at which time our Historical Society had been formed and the artifacts were given to us on permanent loan.
Depicted on a map are several additional areas, along the west side of the lake, where more remains were found by divers. It was recommended they remain in the lake silt to preserve them. It is believed that these beasts walked on the frozen lake, and at times fell through, met their demise and were preserved.
Our exhibit opens with a replica of a woolly mammoth.
One of Conneaut Lake’s most unique history stories is that of the Woolly Mammoths and Mastodons.
The local existence of these large creatures was discovered in 1958 by workers dredging for a dock. Bones were found at the site of what is now Nye’s Marina.
From there, large leg, jaw bones and teeth of both mammoths and mastodons are displayed, depicting the immense size of these animals.
Also included in the exhibit, are large footprints on the floor, the size of a woolly mammoth. Visitors can stand on the footprint to compare it to their own. In addition, a banner with a measuring stick allows visitors to compare these large animals with other commonly known animals.
Check out this unique exhibit and see some of the animals which roamed the area 14,000 years ago.
And if you want to see a life-sized woolly mammoth, visit nearby Fireman’s Beach. This replica was designed by Amara Geffen, fabricated by Craig Newell Welding and made possible by a National Endowment for the Arts grant matched by the Conneaut Lake Community Development Committee and Allegheny College.
In addition to the items in the exhibit, we have much more information on Woolly Mammoths and Mastodons in our archives