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Artifacts & Documents: Printed Material

An Elephant Comes to Greenfield

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Elephants were among several types of exotic animals that were taken from town to town and exhibited to the public. The first elephant to be imported arrived in Massachusetts in 1796, and appeared as far away as Savannah, Georgia, in 1799, after which there are no further records of her. The second arrived in Boston during the spring of 1804. Known as "Ole Bet", this elephant traveled extensively and appears in this advertisement for her exhibit in Deerfield, Greenfield, and Bernardston, Massachusetts, during October of 1812. Sadly, many of these creatures had hard lives, living without other elephants in alien environments. Ole Bet was shot in Alfred, Maine, in 1816.

Creator:
Franklin Herald
Date:
1812
Dimensions:
3 x 8.15 in
Courtesy of:
Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association Library