Articles in the Salamanca Republican-Press announced the opening of the outdoor museum/zoo on October 1, 1933, describing the structure and some of its fascinating creatures. Concrete tanks in the center of the structure housed fish and turtles. Cages and other exhibits sat on walls or were hung from overhead supports.
Near the outdoor museum were a "snake pit" and a bear den; both still visible near the ruins. Since the outdoor museum was only open during the summer, captive animals were released back into the wild at season's end.
A popular postcard shows the north end of the museum as approached from the nature trail. The building was cleverly concealed by huge sugar maples and served as an exhibition place for local animals, rocks, insects and fungi.
The foundations and walls, to a height of 3 1/2 feet, are of vari-colored sandstone. The roof is supported on chestnut poles used as columns and knee-braced of the same material. The trusses are of chestnut and black cherry, while the whole is roofed with thick-butted shake shingles.
The rectangular museum is 25 feet wide and 40 feet long. In the center is a series of pits with dry platforms and water in each, screened to accommodate animals requiring both types of environment.
Salamanca-Republican Press, September 30, 1933.
This photograph of the outdoor museum comes from a camp report for SP-19, the first of the C.C.C. Company 249's permanent camps.
Irving Knobloch, a National Park Service naturalist and later a professor of botany at the University of Michigan, was in charge of trail development projects undertaken by Company 249. A nature trail, now called Red Jacket Trail, was constructed near the outdoor museum.
"Cubby" and "Suzie" were the first to use the fenced bear den, which may have pre-dated the museum/zoo. The cubs were rescued after being separated from their mother by a forest fire in the Crick's Run area.
On opening day, the outdoor museum featured several animals, including a racoon, a skunk, a woodchuck, a porcupine, a chipmunk, five kinds of turtles, five kinds of snakes, toads, frogs and salamanders as well as special displays on nature.
Photographs of Outdoor Museum exhibits courtesy Buffalo Museum of Science.
| HM Number | HM1GX0 |
|---|---|
| Tags | |
| Marker Condition | No reports yet |
| Date Added | Wednesday, September 17th, 2014 at 6:34pm PDT -07:00 |
| UTM (WGS84 Datum) | 17T E 686033 N 4663372 |
|---|---|
| Decimal Degrees | 42.10040000, -78.75021667 |
| Degrees and Decimal Minutes | N 42° 6.024', W 78° 45.013' |
| Degrees, Minutes and Seconds | 42° 6' 1.44" N, 78° 45' 0.78" W |
| Driving Directions | Google Maps |
| Area Code(s) | 716 |
| Closest Postal Address | At or near 250 Allegany State Park, Salamanca NY 14779, US |
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