Located near the banks of the Bosque River, the Waco Mammoth National Monument received National Parks status in 2015-but our story began years earlier. In 1978 two young men, while searching for arrowheads, stumbled upon a large bone eroding out of a ravine. Recognizing the unusual nature of the bone, they removed it and took it to the Baylor’s Strecker Museum. Over the next 40 years, 22 Columbian mammoths and other Ice Age animals were excavated and preserved. A group of dedicated local community members formed the Waco Mammoth Foundation to raise money and advocate for the site.

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On July 10, 2015, the Waco Mammoth National Monument became part of the National Park Service NPS in partnership with the City of Waco and Baylor University. The NPS designation is the result of forty years of scientific research as well as support from the local community. Today, the Waco Mammoth Foundation partners with the NPS, City of Waco, and Baylor University to preserve and interpret the discovery site of an exceptionally well-preserved herd of Columbian mammoths and other Pleistocene-Epoch animals. We continue to conserve the fossils and landscape, as well as educate the community, invite conversation, and more—all to ensure that the Waco Mammoth National Monument thrives for generations to come.