Delving into the past of Dutchess County and the Hyde Park mastodon

MILLBROOK — Larry Lozier, while enlarging a backyard pond, unearthed a large bone on his property in Hyde Park one day in summer 1999. He thought it might be a cow bone, possibly a horse bone, but a neighbor told him, “Larry, that’s no Clydesdale.” He was sure it was something very unusual. Lozier made some phone calls, hoping someone with some scientific knowledge might know what it was. No one believed him, so the bone rode around in the back of his pickup. He even took it to work with him, and to a barbecue. Finally, Lozier made a call to the Anthropology Program at Dutchess Community College. The experts came, they saw, and they believed.

So began a dig for the rest of the skeleton, which had been identified as a mastodon. The excavation went on for more than a year, from August 1999 through October 2000. Ninety-five percent of the skeleton was unearthed in surprisingly good condition. Now, the skeleton is on display at the Paleontology Research Institute in Ithaca, 11,500 years after it roamed the Hudson Valley.

Tom Lake, educator, naturalist and editor of the Hudson River Almanac for the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s (DEC) Hudson River Estuary Program recalled that 14 years after that archeological dig was finished, the Hyde Park mastodon is still most complete skeleton of a mastodon ever unearthed in the Northeast. An important element to the process was that the excavation went on long enough that students from elementary school through graduate school had a chance to observe portions of the dig and examine the bones.

Lake, a lifelong resident of the Hudson Valley, said he has always been intrigued by the vast history of the area, from 20,000 years ago through the 1609 exploration by Henry Hudson, right up to the present. His fondness for the Hudson River is well known; he teaches natural history and is an estuary naturalist. As an anthropologist, he said, it’s natural for him to see the connection among the land, the history and the people of the region.

Lake, who is also an archeologist specializing in the Northeast, mused about the possibility that Native Americans in the Hudson Valley may have crossed paths with this enormous animal. 

The Millbrook Historical Society is hosting an event on Thursday, April 21, at the Millbrook Library, featuring a presentation from Lake on details of this major discovery and the historical adventures that followed. The dig involved hard work, long hours and sometimes inclement weather, but the importance of the find was monumental. And, of course, there were constant visitors to the site, including Boy Scouts, journalists, photographers, major television stations and even The Discovery Channel, which filmed much of the digging process. Many volunteers, including Lake and his “Summer Scholars” crew, also made the dig possible. His students from both Vassar College and Dutchess Community College were also fortunate enough to be involved.

The Historical Society welcomes members and the public to attend the upcoming presentation. Please use the Friendly Lane door at the Millbrook Library, Thursday, April 21, at 7:30 p.m. The talk is free to all; light refreshments will be served.