Limestone Legacy
Iowa’s Amateur Paleontologist
Three Iowans won international
recognition for their lifelong
study of Iowa's fossil crinoids.
Because of their work,
scientists around the world
became
aware
of
the
remarkable fossils in the cliffs
around Burlington and in the
quarries near Le Grand and
Gilmore City.
Although Charles Wachsmuth,
Frank Springer and Burnice H.
Beane came from different
backgrounds, they shared two
things-- a lack of formal scientific training in geology, and a passionate quest for the
study of ancient "flowers" of the Iowa seas, the crinoid.
Charles Wachsmuth
All his life illness plagued Charles Wachsmuth. It forced him to end his law
studies in Germany and immigrate to Iowa in 1855. It inhibited his business
aspirations as a grocer in Burlington. Yet poor health -- and his wife's help - was the catalyst for a new interest for Wachsmuth. As an amateur
geologist, Wachsmuth would eventually earn international respect.
Running a grocery store taxed Wachsmuth's health
and slowly the management of the store shifted to
Bernardina, his wife. Local doctors suggested he
spend more time outdoors, and he began to
wander the cliffs near his Burlington home.
Wachsmuth eagerly began collecting and studying
the crinoids he found. As his collection and
knowledge grew, so did his reputation. In 1873 he
has hired to study crinoids at the Museum of
Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, by the
Charles Wachsmuth
(1829-1896)
(1829-1896)
famous geologist Louis Agassiz. As Wachsmuth's
collections and knowledge increased he published his findings individually
and with others authors. Bernardina enthusiastic support of her husband's
work extended into the field collecting, and actively participation in the
research and writing of his later publications. Many contemporary sources
recognized their shared efforts however, authorship was only credited to
Charles.
Frank Springer
While studying law at the University of Iowa, Frank
Springer attended a lecture by Louis Agassiz and
became interested in Paleontology. He established a law
office in Burlington and a friendship with the
Wachsmuths. Together they shared a passion for
collecting and studying crinoids and to co-authored
many publications.
Springer attained fame as a New Mexico legislator,
lawyer for the Atchison,Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad,
Frank Springer
.
and as president of the Maxwell Land Grant Company,
(1848-1927)
controlling nearly tow million acres of land. His interest in crinoids brought
him back to Burlington and collaboration with the Wachsmuths.
Together,
Wachsmuth
and
Springer wrote Revisions of
Paleocrinoidea, an attempt to
order all known fossil crinoids.
The 4 volume work recognized
similarity and diversity within the
crinoids. In itself the publication
was to encourage more research
and Springer and the Wachsmuths
labored on Crinoidea Camerata of
North America for seven years.
Before its completion Charles Wachsmuth died and Bernadina completed
the manuscript with Springer. The finished work consisted of 800 pages
and 1500 illustrations.
Bernice H. Beane
In 1874 a small "nest" of crinoid fossils was
uncovered in the Le Grand Quarry. They were so
well preserved that scientists from Iowa, Illinois, New
Mexico, Indiana, and Massachusetts visited the site
and with the cooperation of the quarry owner they
excavated the fossils over a sixteen year period.
Charles Wachsmuth and Frank Springer were two of
the scientists that visited the site They patiently answered the questions of
young farm boy, --Burnice H. Beane and inspired him with their enthusiasm.
Burnice Hartley Beane grew up on a farm at the edge
of the Le Grand quarry. In the quiet times, between
chores and schoolwork, he found time for his hobby -collecting insects, bird eggs, rocks, and finally fossils.
Beane helped his mother manage the family farm while
his father toured the Midwest as an evangelist Quaker
minister. They sold their cash crops of strawberries,
watermelon and potatoes in Marshalltown and other
nearby towns.
Burnice H. Beane
(1879-1966)
Beane to attended
Penn College in
Oskaloosa for a short
time
and
then
returned to the family
farm near the edge of
the quarry. Here he
raised his family and
continued his interest
in the fossils of Le
Grand.
B. H. Beane and one of his four sons stand beside a wagon lift
designed by his father. ca. 1910
Crushed stone for road and railway
ballast, agricultural lime and building
stone for the Old Iowa State Historical
Building originated from the quarry.
The quarry's most significant product
however, is the small flower-like
animals, crinoids, that are preserved in
the rock.
Le Grand Quarry
Circa 1910
In 1909 the ownership of the Le Grand quarry
passed to the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad.
Stone Crusher
The worlds largest rock crusher awaits the limestone
from the Le Grand Quarry Company near the
Beane farm. ca. 1900
Still interested in the crinoid he
continued to maintained close ties
with the quarry owner and workers..
Beane's most significant discovery came in 1931 when blasting exposed a
cluster of ancient starfish. While workers loaded rock into the crusher,
Beane chipped away at the block of stone to reduce it to a manageable
weight. Still weighing over 600 pounds, he moved the slab to Beane's farm
for study and careful cleaning . Beane, then 52, worked meticulously to
uncover the delicate fossils.
Upon preparation, the rock yielded the remains of 183 starfish, Schoenaster
legrandensis, and a number of other specimens. This find and the care
shown it its preparation gained Burnice Beane the interest of paleontologists
and gained recognition in the scientific community across the world
"The best discovery that I ever made was
a slab of starfish . . . about five feet wide
and about three feet thick, I think. And it
took me two days to get it to work down
from the wall so I could move it. When I
got it so I could handle it at all, I used a
plank to slide it onto a truck and took it
home."
Burnice Beane, 1958
Burnice
Beane's painstaking skill in
preparing the crinoids he saved from the
crusher is a scientific legacy. Through
his efforts many museums across the
world share a portion of Iowa's past. The
State Historical Society of Iowa is
fortunate to exhibit many of the fossils
preserved and prepared by Burnice H.
Beane.
Beane's interest in the Le Grand crinoid
continued throughout his life, it filled his
house with beautiful fossil slabs and
benefited museums and universities
around the world. As his fame spread,
many paleontologists and amateur
collectors sought his advice and an opportunity to tour the famous quarry
with the man who had become the guardian of its treasures.
WHAT IS A CRINOID?
Crinoids are often called "sea lilies" or
"feather stars". and are echinoderms (spinyskinned animals) with skeletal parts made
of calcareous (limy) plates. They have
radial symmetry, digestive, nervous,
reproductive and water vascular systems.
Their delicate arms strain tiny marine life
from the sea and move it toward its mouth.
inoid
Some crinoids are stationary, while others move freely
over the ocean floor or in floating mats. They may be
found in all of the oceans of the world and at vastly
different temperatures and depth
The Crown includes the arms and the body, or calyx,
of the animal. The Calyx is the plate-covered body. It
contains the digestive systems and supports the arms,
which help gather food. The plates of the calyx are
arranged in a specific manner for each type of crinoid.
Arms are the long appendages that reach out from the calyx. Pinnules are
small extensions of the arms that help move water and food to the mouth.
The Stem is made of individual disks with a central opening for nutrients
and nerve impulses. Free living crinoids often lack stems.
Columnal, or stem sections, is held together by flexible fibers which
allowmovement. Shape and surfaces of the columnals may vary with each
type of crinoid.Cirri are the "arms of the stem" that hold the crinoid to
objects or the sea floor.
The Hold Fast secures the crinoid to the sea floor much like tree roots.
Free moving crinoids do not have hold fasts.
This slab holds the remains of crinoids and other
invertebrate that died on the Iowa sea floor 350
million years ago. At that time Iowa was located
near the equator and submerged under a warm
sea.
The death of these animals was non-violent and
their bodies drifted into this depression to gently
settle onto the limy mud. Layers of lime covered
their remains and preserved them from
destruction. When excavated their bodies lie
randomly across the stone and show no current or
wave action.
We do not know why these animals died. Did the water temperature rise?
Did the salinity become change? Were they suffocated by water that was too
muddy ? We may never know.
The exhibit aquarium shows modern marine
invertebrates who’s relatives lived in Iowa’s
Mississippian period, 350 million years ago.
 Chambered Nautilus
 Sea Urchin (Spikes)
 Marine Worm
 Feather Star (crinoid)
From modern crinoids we observe that:
Crinoids eat plankton and live in areas where of plankton live.
Crinoids grow many arms in warm water, few arms in cool water.
Crinoids may be stationary or free moving.
Crinoids may live in concentrations on the ocean floor or as floating mats.
Crinoids are colorful. and Crinoids may regenerate lost parts.
Example of Crinoids from Le Grande, Iowa
Taxocrinus intermedius
Dichocrinus inornatus
Rhodocrinus kirbyi & Platycrinus symmetricus
Crinoids of the Mississippian period.
Kinderhook Series, Hampton Formation
Le Grand, Iowa
A Question of Ethics
Fossils are rare glimpses of past life. Countless animals die
each year but only a few are protected from decay,
sheltered in the layers of earth, to become fossils. Even
fewer are ever found.
After lying undisturbed for millions of year, exposure at the
surface endangers the fossil. Mining, construction, and
erosion destroy countless fossils. Wind and water naturaly
wear away delicate structures and scatter fragments. A fossil that is
discovered by a caring individual and preserved for study is rare.