Invertebrate Paleontology

History of the Invertebrate Paleontology Collection

The paleontological collections represent the combined efforts of numerous predecessors and partner institutions in the Cincinnati area. They began under the guidance of prominent Cincinnati physician Daniel Drake and the Western Museum Society in 1818 and were continued by members of the Western Academy of Natural Sciences (1835), the Cincinnati Society of Natural History (1870) and the Cincinnati Museum of Natural History (1857). Samuel A. Miller was the first Curator of Paleontology of the Cincinnati Society of Natural History (1871-1874), followed by John W. Hall, Jr. (1874-1877), Edward O. Ulrich (1877-1880), John Mickelborough (1880-1884), Edward M. Cooper (1884-1885) and Charles L. Faber (1885-1886). Ulrich served as Custodian of the Scientific Department beginning in 1873. A comprehensive Geology Department was established at CSNH in 1886, and later divided into individual departments of invertebrate paleontology, vertebrate paleontology and mineralogy.

The University of Cincinnati Geology Museum paleontology collection was founded in 1907 and transferred to Cincinnati Museum Center in 1998. The university collection includes thousands of specimens collected by the Dry Dredgers Association of Amateur Geologists & Fossil Collectors, the oldest amateur paleontology association in the United States, founded in 1942. Educational and collecting efforts of Invertebrate Paleontology continue to be aided by a flourishing relationship with the Dry Dredgers. The entire collection was moved to its current location at the Geier Collections and Research Center facility in 2001. In 2004 the Curator of Invertebrate Paleontology position was endowed.

Geology and Mineralogy Collection

The Mineralogy Department collects mineral specimens (including gemstones) and rocks (including meteorites, geological structures and ornamental stones). The emphasis of the collection is on the display and educational potential of material occurring regionally throughout the Central Lowland Province of the United States, with secondary emphasis on other worldwide occurrences. The collection of 12-15,000 specimens is housed in a dedicated, secure room at the Geier Center in 1,160 sq. ft. of cabinetry and shelving.

The Mineralogy Collection also contains geology-related material, for example, mining artifacts (tools, lamps, analytical instruments, mining equipment and mining stock certificates). This material is used in exhibits, and in the educational interpretation of the collection and of temporary exhibits.

History of the Geology and Mineralogy Collection

During the late 1800s, the Cincinnati Society of Natural History maintained a mineralogy collection, and a few objects from this period can be identified within the current collection. Major periods of collection building, most notably the early 1900s, the mid-1940s to early 1950s, and the 1980s and 1990s have resulted from the influences of Charles Dury, Ralph Dury and the current Adjunct Curator of Mineralogy, Terry Huizing. Prior to the Museum’s move to Union Terminal, minerals were a major part of public exhibits in the Cincinnati Museum of Natural History. The current display in the Museum of Natural History & Science includes some particularly fine examples of tri-state minerals and those of importance to the national economy. Meteorites from the collection are used in the space/cosmology exhibit.