History
Coal mining for the railroad led to the settlement of the nearby town of Fossil, Wyoming, now a ghost town. When the fossils were discovered, miners dug them up to sell to collectors. In particular, Lee Craig sold fossils from 1897 to 1937. Commercial fossil collecting is not allowed within the National Monument, but numerous quarries on private land nearby continue to produce extraordinary fossil specimens, both for museums and for private collectors.
Read more about this topic: Fossil Butte National Monument
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