Welcome to the "Home of the Missouri Dinosaur." Our exhibits include a life-size model of the hypsibema missouriense, a variety of dinosaur called a Hadrosaur or "duck billed" dinosaur, with jaws that contained more than 1,000 teeth—the dinosaur was discovered in Bollinger County in 1942; in 2004 it became the Missouri's official dinosaur.
The museum houses dinosaur fossils and artifacts from around the world; a fossil preparation lab; Will Mayfield College memorabilia; Civil War ballistics; American Indian artifacts; a digitized presentation of historic local photographs; wireless radio development; artifacts from the wreck of the Steamboat Montana; and a children's fun and educational room.
Our museum makes its home in the Art and Science building of the former Will Mayfield College campus, overlooking the foothills of the ancient Ozark Mountains. Beautiful architecture and educational history placed our building on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005.
Admission: $2; younger than 19, $1.
Amidon Memorial Conservation Area is a 1,630-acre area located on the upper reaches of the Castor River. The forest's timber species range from mixed hardwoods to shortleaf pine to cedar glades. A granite shut-ins on the Castor River adds an interesting geologic feature. The Driscoll Tract contains two old grist mill sites that date to the mid 1800s, lending a historical flavor to the area. The area is located south of Route J, eight miles east of Fredericktown. County Road 208 fords the Castor River.
Castor River Conservation Area is nearly all forest and is home to Blue Pond Natural Area. Blue Pond is the deepest natural pond in Missouri. Facilities/features include: primitive camping, a multi-use hike/bike/horse trail, numerous intermittent streams, and one permanent stream. The main tract lies 12 miles west of Marble Hill on both sides of the Route 34.
Millstream Gardens Conservation Area is a 697-acre tract of land in Madison County, about halfway between Fredericktown and Arcadia, off of State Route 72. The Tiemann Shut-ins are within the area's boundaries. The St. Francis River forms one of the area's western boundaries, then meanders eastward for 1.2 miles through the area's mid-southern section, before rushing through the shut-ins and passing into the Silver Mines area. The area's woodlands are composed primarily of oak, hickory, and pine in the uplands, and ash, elm, and maple along the river border and its drainages. The St. Francis River at Millstream Gardens, and its wooded corridor, is a part of Missouri's Natural Area System. This large stream contains an adjoining slough and large igneous shut-ins. A wide variety of animals live here. Wildlife species such as whitetail deer, turkey, and squirrel inhabit the uplands.
Thousand Oaks Winery offers 20+ wines, produced on-site. Facilities include one of the areas only hand-built, wood-fired brick ovens, which we use to bake pizza, flatbreads, and appetizers.
Our winery is located on Route 51, south of Patton Junction on 60 acres of hardwood forest, overlooking a private lake. We have space for special events and private parties.
We have live music every Sunday, May-October. The winery is open March-December.