The Dark Truth Behind the Destruction of Prehistoric Models in New York’s Central Park: Unveiled

In New York City, in May 1871, partially constructed life-size models of dinosaurs and other prehistoric creatures intended for a prestigious new museum in Central Park were totally destroyed in a violent act of malicious vandalism by a gang of thugs with hammers. The broken pieces were taken away and buried somewhere in the park, never to be seen again.

Until now, the heinous act had been paid tribute to former US politician William “Boss” Tweed.

But now a new paper by Ms Victoria Coules of Bristol’s Department of Art History and Professor Michael Benton of Bristol’s School of Earth Sciences sheds new light on the incident and, contrary to accounts precedents, identifies who was really behind the order and what led to such wanton destruction – a strange man known as Henry Hilton, the Treasurer and Vice President of Central Park.

“It all has to do with the struggle for control of New York City in the years following the American Civil War (1861-1865),” Ms. Coules said. “The city was at the center of a power struggle – a battle for control of city finances and lucrative construction and development contracts.”

As the city grew, the iconic Central Park took shape. More than just a green space, it was to have other attractions, including the Paleozoic Museum. British sculptor Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins, who had created the Crystal Palace dinosaurs, life-size models of prehistoric creatures in London, had traveled to America and been commissioned to build American versions of the models for the Paleozoic museum.

But the notorious William “Boss” Tweed had taken command of the city and, as part of sweeping changes in city governance, had put his own henchmen in charge of city services, including Central Park. They canceled the partially completed project at the end of 1870, and the matter would have ended there, but in May 1871 someone ordered the band of workmen to destroy all of its partially finished contents.

Professor Benton explains: “Previous accounts of the incident had always reported that it was done under the personal instruction of ‘boss’ Tweed himself, for various reasons ranging from rage that the display would be blasphemous, to revenge for a perceived criticism of him in a New York Times project cancellation report.”

“Reading these reports, something was wrong,” Ms. Coules said. “At the time, Tweed was fighting for his political life, already accused of corruption and financial malfeasance, so why was he so involved in a museum project?” She added: “So we went back to the original sources and found it wasn’t Tweed – and the motive wasn’t profanity or hurt vanity.”

The situation was complicated by two other projects in development at the same time in Central Park, the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) and the Central Park Zoo. But, as Professor Benton explained, “relying on the detailed annual reports and minutes of Central Park, as well as the reports of the New York Timeswe can show that the real villain was a strange character named Henry Hilton.”

Ms Coules adds: “Because all the primary sources are now available online, we could study them in detail – and we could show that the destruction was ordered in a meeting by the real culprit, Henry Hilton, the treasurer and Vice President of Central Park. — and he was executed the day after that meeting.”

Hilton was already known for other eccentric decisions. When he noticed a bronze statue in the park, he ordered it painted white, and when a whale skeleton was donated to the American Museum of Natural History, he also had it painted in white. Later in life, other misguided decisions included depriving a widow of her inheritance, squandering a huge fortune, and destroying businesses and livelihoods along the way.

Professor Benton concluded: “This may seem like an act of local brutality, but correcting the records is extremely important in our understanding of the history of paleontology. act of a very strange individual who made equally bizarre decisions about how artifacts should be treated – painting statues or whale skeletons white and destroying museum models. He may be considered the villain of the play but as a character Hilton remains an enigmatic mystery.”