On October 16, 1963, Judge Sam Perry of Glen Ellyn, intending to merely deepen the pond on his property, received much more than he expected when diggers unearthed a prehistoric femur. Upon hearing the news, Judge Perry called for help from Wheaton College, and Dr. Douglas Block of the Geology Department took charge of the site. Judging the find to be geologically significant, the decision was made to drain the lake and excavate. Enlisting Wheaton students from the Geology Department and with technical advice from Orville Gilpin of the Chicago Field Museum, Dr. Block oversaw a strenuous eight-day dig. The muddy excavation was soon joined by hundreds of interested community members and extensive media coverage from local DuPage County and Chicago papers.
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