Long before Illinois was covered by farmland, interstates and suburban sprawl, it was an ocean that was home to the animal that become the Illinois State Fossil, the Tully Monster.
Join the Morris Retail Association and the Grundy County Historical Society and Museum in celebrating Illinois’ state fossil at the Tully Monster Festival from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 26. Learn all about the animal that called Grundy County home long before humans even existed, and participate in a scavenger hunt that will run throughout all downtown.
According to the Illinois State Museum website, the Tully Monster was a soft-bodied animal that lived in the ocean that covered Illinois during the Pennsylvanian Period, which was about 300 million years ago.
“It was probably an active, swimming carnivore,” according to the website. “The flexible body was probably round or oval in cross section. It may have been segmented, but some recent work suggests that it was not. The tail had horizontal fins and a dorsal fin; all three of the fins were triangular.”
The Tully Monster was first found by Francis Tully in 1958, and fossils of the Tully Monster are commonly found in the Mazon Creek deposits in Will and Grundy counties.
According to the museum website, these deposits are some of the most important fossil deposits in North America because the soft parts of many organisms are preserved. This includes the remains of both plants and animals. Some of the organisms lived in the ocean and others were washed in from the nearby shore.
The last stop on the scavenger hunt will be the Grundy County Historical Society Museum at 510 W. Illinois Ave., where there will be lessons about the Tully Monster fossil, a chalk drawing contest, a photo shoot with the Tully Monster, face painting, a hula hoop demonstration and games.
Businesses participating include Apple Butter-Shugies, Birdies, Brianna Lynn Boutique, Cat & Hound, Evergreen Nutrition, Gigi’s, the Grundy County Historical Society Museum, Just Kidding Around, Liberty St. Jewelers, Lilac and Laughter, Montage, Morris Area Public Library, Oleanders, Rock Soul Love, Rosies and Whimsy. Restaurants participating are Applejax, Clayton’s Tap, Clayton’s Rail, Laki Ice, Morris Bakery, Sweet Tooth, Tully Monster Bar & Grill, Verbena and Weits Cafe.