At a geologic pace

The Fossil Cabin Museum is getting ready for its move in the manner of a turtle, very slowly. There may even be a fossil bone from this type of reptile built into the house somewhere.

Medicine Bow Museum Director Sharon Biamon can't wait to have the Fossil Cabin to come to the museum to actually see all the different ancient bones and fossils that make up the structure.

So far she has waited two summers.

The house was built as a tourist attraction next to a gas station owned by Thomas Boylan.

In 1915, Boylan began collecting dinosaur bones from nearby Como Bluff intending to complete a dinosaur skeleton to attract commuters to his gas station. Boylan came to realize he did not have enough bones for a complete skeleton.

He decided to build a house with his bounty of fossils using 5,796 mortared together dinosaur bones. The cabin weighs 102,166 pounds (53 tons).

Boylan advertised his creation on postcards that he sold at the museum as "the building that used to walk" and "creation museum". He did so well at branding the Fossil Cabin Museum, it was labeled "Oldest Cabin in the World" in 1938 by Robert Ripley, and a sign can still be seen that reads, "Believe It Or Not."

Boylan ran the gas station and fossil museum until he died in 1947. After his death, his wife continued operating them until the late 1960s.

The Fossil Cabin changed hands from the Boylan family and eventually was in the hands of Roger Nash's family. It closed in 2008.

The cabin was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2008.

After 10 years, the family donated the house to the Medicine Bow Museum. Baimon started the fundraising for the move in the summer of 2018 and hit the goal that fall.

Understandably, the cabin could not be moved until the summer. Unfortunately, the move didn't happen.

Biamon had hopes the cabin would be moved early this summer.

Nothing happened.

The contractor started work again about three weeks ago (see "Still Waiting to Move" on page 8 of the June 3 Saratoga Sun), but was only there for one day according to Biamon.

Biamon had hoped once the contractor started, he would have the cabin moved by July 1.

Biamon did not hear from him until Monday and, although the cabin will not be moved by July 1, she is hopeful it won't be much longer.

The contractor told her he got through the hard wall under the cabin. He is getting more steel on June 30, in Denver and plans to be back that day. On July 1 or 2, he is hoping to get started with the physical move.

It may not be July 1 when the Fossil Cabin Museum comes to rest at the Medicine Bow Museum, but Baimon hopes it will still be in the early part of July.