How Old Was The Oldest Dinosaur Fossil Ever Found In New Jersey?

Do you know how old the oldest dinosaur fossil ever found in New Jersey is? The answer is mind-boggling.

Dinosaurs In New Jersey?

It's hard to imagine that dinosaurs once roamed the same ground we walk on and the beaches we visit.

Here are some differences between New Jersey dinosaurs and today's humans that science has proven.

First, not one New Jersey dinosaur ever paid property taxes, and while we can't be sure the dinosaurs didn't have to fork up a beach badge fee, we do know it would be a hard rule to enforce.

New Jersey's Very Own Dinosaur?

Seriously, dinosaurs did inhabit New Jersey.  At one time. Our state dinosaur, yes, we have one, is the Hadrosaurus Folkii.

Read More: How Many Legendary New Jersey Places Have You Been To?

We checked in with the Rutgers website to get all the details on New Jersey's dinosaur, and the story is amazing.

The discovery of these amazing fossils happened back in the 1830s when a Haddonfield farmer named John Estaugh Hopkins.

What Was Happening In New Jersey 80 Million Years Ago

He found the large bones on his farm, but had no idea what his discovery was, and it wasn't until 20 years later that the weight of what he found was revealed.

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William Parker Foulke, an amateur geologist, visited Mr. Hopkins for dinner. He saw the bones and asked if he could do an excavation.

He found a large, nearly full dinosaur skeleton. It is believed the Hadrosaurus roamed our area 80 million years ago.

Some estimates place the potential length of this creature at 25 feet. Let's hope he used the right lane on the Garden State Parkway.