Well, it has been a long 111 years, but…CRINOIDS ARE BACK IN BURLINGTON!

DMCHS was recently gifted with a world class collection of crinoids, marking the first time in 111 years that Des Moines County has had a significant collection of these fossils.

Why is this important? Since the 19th century, Burlington has been known as the “Crinoid Capital”, largely because of the scientific work of Charles Wachsmuth and Frank Springer. The first crinoid species named west of the Mississippi River (in 1850) were collected in Burlington, and since that time over 250 unique species of these marine animals have been described from Des Moines County. Wachsmuth and Springer built a fireproof building in Burlington to house their growing research library and crinoid collection—the only building every constructed solely for the study of these marine animals. In 1911, that collection was shipped from Burlington to Washington, D.C., leaving the Crinoid Capital without good examples of the fossils for which it so famous. The fossils that were shipped to the Smithsonian in 1911 included the largest collection of Burlington crinoids ever amassed.

The Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard possesses the second largest collection, which includes fossils found mostly by Willis Hervey Barris (Rector at Christ Episcopal Church), Otto Thieme (a local doctor), and Charles Wachsmuth (a grocer). The bulk of this collection was made before 1873. Despite their relevance to Des Moines County, the Harvard and Smithsonian collections of Burlington fossils are largely inaccessible to the public.

The newly received collection at the Heritage Museum represents the third largest research collection of crinoids from the Burlington Limestone. It includes more than 3,000 crinoids, blastoids, and other marine fossils collected by Kenneth Tibbits of Hannibal, Missouri. Ken and his late wife, Linda, generously donated this remarkable collection of fossils to the DMCHS. Receiving the Tibbits Collection is important, not only because it “puts the Crinoid back in the Crinoid Capital”, but also because it is accessible to researchers and the public alike.

The Tibbits Collection will form the core of a future “Hall of Crinoids” exhibit at the DMHS Heritage Museum that we are designing presently. The Tibbits Collection also includes new species of crinoids that are being studied by Dr. Forest Gahn, Burlington native and crinoid specialist.A small fraction of the Tibbits Collection is currently on display in the Grand Gallery at the Heritage Museum.

We welcome you to visit the museum during regular business hours to enjoy the remarkable beauty of these “stone lilies” that are of such great significance to our region.