July 16, 2025
John Hutelmye/Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University
A restored cast of a hadrosaurus skeleton has been put back on display at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University. The dinosaur was discovered in Haddonfield, New Jersey in 1858 and was the first mounted dinosaur to be displayed to the public.
The skeleton of a dinosaur that once roamed South Jersey is again on display at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University.
The fossilized remains of a Hadrosaurus foulkii, also known as Haddy, was discovered in Haddonfield in 1858, and a cast of the dinosaur's full skeleton was created and put on display at the museum. A new cast, made of plastic resin, was created in 2008 to match the current scientific beliefs about the dino's anatomy, but it has been not been displayed since 2020.
Now, that cast has been restored and returned to the museum's Dinosaur Hall. It has quite the history.
The hadrosaurus bones were excavated by a lawyer and historian named William Parker Foulke and his friend, John Hopkins, who lived on the land where the dig site was located. Only a portion of the dino was found, but British artist Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins created a full cast as directed by Academy curator Joseph Leidy, who named the species.
Hadrosaurus are believed to have lived approximately 80 million years ago in the forests and coastal regions of New Jersey, although they've been found on all seven continents as a result of former land bridges. The species is believed to have been herbivorous and has been dubbed "duck-billed" dinosaurs for its wide and flat snouts. The dinos grew to be about 25 feet long, 10 feet tall and weighed 7-8 tons. They likely walked on their hind legs, but used their front legs for balance when grazing.
The original cast, known as a mount, went on display in 1868 at the Academy of Natural Sciences former location at Broad and Sansom streets. It was the first place the public could visit to see a mounted dinosaur. Haddy drew such large crowds that the museum began charging people 10 cents to enter.
The museum continued to display the mount after it moved to its current location on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in 1876. The original mount included the fossilized bones found in Haddonfield, but in time, some of the bones developed cracks caused by humidity. In the 1930s, the fossils were placed under the care of the academy's vertebrate paleontology collection staff. The new mount was created in 2008 for an exhibit on the dinosaur.
"Hadrosaurus foulkii, or Haddy, is a bit of a local celebrity," Ned Gilmore, collections manager for vertebrate paleontology at the academy, said in a statement. "This dinosaur represents the Academy's place in history and is representative of its long tradition of bringing science and natural history to the public and inspiring curiosity and awe."
Haddy can be seen at the museum with the price of admission. Its return will be celebrated at the museum's Dinos After Dark event on Friday, July 25 from 5-8 p.m. The pay-what-you-wish event will have representatives from the Historical Society of Haddonfield on hand. The event includes various programs, and guests can purchase food and drinks.
