Haddonfield, New Jersey is about 10 miles east of Philadelphia, and on this day, in October 1858,

lawyer, philanthropist, and social reformer William Parker Folk is a filthy mess, covered in Marl,

a clay-like substance, as he finishes up a day of meticulous excavation. Folk is searching for dinosaur bones. 20 years ago, it seems,

farm laborers working in this same pit, happened upon unusual skeletal remains, large bones they

couldn't identify. They reported the find, but without much consequence. Decades later,

folk wonders if he can find more.

Paleontology is still a new science in America, and there have been important findings, imprints of feet, individual teeth and bones. But these have been mostly scattered and incomplete.

This pit, where folk now digs, will eventually produce the first complete set of dino bones in North America,

a skeleton that will be named Hadrosaurus Fulky, after the man himself.

Nose to tail, it will measure more than 20 feet. The animal would have weighed an estimated

2.5 tons. It's a discovery that will alter the course of paleontology, not to mention how

museums are designed and constructed to display the beasts. But it will also change Americans'

understanding of the age of their continent, and by association how they feel about themselves.

Music how they feel about themselves. Hi there, I'm Don Wildman.

Thanks for clicking through to another episode of American history.

I'm glad you're here.

Back in the 19th century,

against a backdrop of so much

industrial, economic, and social transformation, a tectonic shift happened to American consciousness.

It had to do with time, specifically the time the North American continent had existed.

Prior to the 1800s, there was widespread acceptance of the biblical

version of cosmic origin. The planet was 6,000 years old, and the Great Flood came about.

...