Interstate 55 billboard touts Marble Hill dinosaur

Motorists driving south on Interstate 55 between exits 96 and 99 will now be greeted by a giant Missouri dinosaur.

To promote tourism in the small Bollinger County town of Marble Hill, residents have raised money to erect a billboard to attract visitors to the Bollinger County Museum of Natural History.

Bones from the Hypsibema missouriensis, otherwise known as the Missouri dinosaur, were discovered near Glenallen in 1942 when the Chronister family was digging a well. Since then the dinosaur bones were put on display in the museum.

Eva Dunn, president of the museum, said community leaders had a meeting earlier this year to discuss promoting tourism in Marble Hill.

"Money was raised through fund raisers for the billboard," Dunn said. "The billboard was a communitywide effort. It's hopefully going to bring a lot of tourists into the community."

It will be several weeks before residents in Marble Hill learn if the billboard has attracted more tourists. A toll free number to city hall is on the billboard and city officials will keep track of the number of calls concerning the sign.

The museum attracts more than 5,000 visitors a year.

"We get a lot of school groups and community clubs that come to the museum," Dunn said. "The number of general public visitors is always growing."

Gary Shrum, city hall administrative assistant, said tourism is the only way to attract people to Marble Hill.

"We've got a bad road system that comes in and out, so we can't really get industry to come into a small place like this," he said. "So we've got to set our sites on tourism such as the museum and the dig."

There is still an active dig site where the dinosaur bones were found. The museum features a lab, where specimens from the dig will be brought for study.

Shrum believes that the billboard will catch the eye of motorists driving along I-55 and will bring them into Bollinger County, the only known place in Missouri where dinosaur bones were found.

"If you watch kids nowadays, the books they read and the TV shows they watch, there is a lot of stuff about dinosaurs," Shrum said. "We're the only place with dinosaur bones so these kids are going to make their parents bring them here."

The Bollinger County Museum of Natural History is open from 12 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Thursday through Saturday or by appointment.

jfreeze@semissourian.com