BASTROP COUNTY HISTORICAL COMMISSION
MASTODON BONE AND PETRIFIED ROCK ON DISPLAY AT SMITHVILLE PUBLIC LIBRARY
by David Herrington, Bastrop County Historical Commission, for Elgin Courier newspaper November 14, 2018
A mastodon bone and petrified rock are on display at the Smithville Public Library. The Rock and Bone Society (RNB) made the arrangements including transportation and the construction of the display.
Mastodon Bone Exhibit
Mrs. Ruth Stalmach Whitehead also donated this massive 50,000-year-old mastodone bone, which was found near the Colorado River just west of Smithville, to the Smithville Public Library for permanent display in honor of her father, Johnny Stalmach, who found and preserved many Smithville area artifacts for the benefit of future generations.
Petrified Wood Exhibit
Mrs. Ruth Stalmach Whitehead also donated this massive natural petrified wood artwork, which was found just east of Smithville, to the Smithville Public Library for permanent display in honor of her father,
Per the Houston Post, Johnny Stalmach, prominent Smithville businessman, found this prehistoric mastodon bone, which dates back 40,000 to 50,000 years ago, and gave it to Smithville High School. ocated in a gravel guly between two small hills, the 80-pound bone is four feet, two inches long and 14 inches in diameter. Dr. John Wilson, UT geologist, described it as the upper leg bone of a young cousin of today's elephant, according to the March 10, 1955 article. Photo courtesy of the Smithville Heritage Society.
Cliff Wilkes and Don Jellison (now deceased) of the Rock and Bone Society look over the petrified wood.
A close-up view of the mastodon bone now on display at the Smithville Public Library.
