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All the United States Virginia Natural Bridge Dinosaur Kingdom II

Dinosaur Kingdom II

An alternate history park where the Union Army loses the war... to dinosaurs.

Natural Bridge, Virginia

Added By
Bryan Woerner
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CAPTION
A Union soldier in the jaws of a dinosaur.   Katharine Bowman
Abraham Lincoln steels himself to fight a raptor for the Gettysburg Address.   Katharine Bowman
A Union soldier versus two dinos.   Katharine Bowman
Dinosaurs made by Mark Cline at Dinosaur Kingdom.   Katharine Bowman
The victorious dinosaurs.   Mark Atkins (Atlas Obscura user)
Some of the dinos at the park.   Mark Atkins (Atlas Obscura user)
It is the brainchild of artist Mark Cline.   Mark Atkins (Atlas Obscura user)
More creatures..  
Welcome to Dinosaur Kingdom!   Mark Atkins (Atlas Obscura user)
Just a hint of Union blue uniform is visible in the T Rex’s jaws.   Katharine Bowman
A cowboy rides a raptor in front of the gift shop.   Katharine Bowman
Dinosaurs vs. Yankees.   Katharine Bowman
  e1savage / Atlas Obscura User
  e1savage / Atlas Obscura User
  curtistalls / Atlas Obscura User
  curtistalls / Atlas Obscura User
  curtistalls / Atlas Obscura User
Sign welcoming visitors on weekends in May   jesscbatten / Atlas Obscura User
Entrance and ticket booth   jesscbatten / Atlas Obscura User
  EPerry1 / Atlas Obscura User
  EPerry1 / Atlas Obscura User
  EPerry1 / Atlas Obscura User
  EPerry1 / Atlas Obscura User
  Kraken / Atlas Obscura User
  EPerry1 / Atlas Obscura User
  Kraken / Atlas Obscura User
Outside in the front   sheilashepard4 / Atlas Obscura User
Outside in the front   sheilashepard4 / Atlas Obscura User
  Traveler Tim / Atlas Obscura User
First amazing display!!  
Dino’s eye view.   Maharaji Rastafari / Atlas Obscura User
  http://smokymountainrider.com/wp-content/u...
No leg… No problem   Maharaji Rastafari / Atlas Obscura User
  Mark Kline
  e1savage / Atlas Obscura User
  e1savage / Atlas Obscura User
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About

In the woods of Virginia, a science fiction alternate reality version of the Civil War wages on.

The story behind the park goes something like this: In 1863, while excavating fossils in Lost Caverns, a family of Southern paleontologists discovered a hidden valley full of living dinosaurs. As the Garrison Family studied these creatures in peace, the Union Army discovered their secret and attempted to use the dinosaurs as weapons of mass destruction against the South.

That's when things went terribly wrong for the Yankees.

Built by artist Mark Cline, creator of such whimsical attractions as Foamhenge and Professor Cline's Haunted Monster Museum, Dinosaur Kingdom is most definitely not to be confused with Virginia’s other, much more straightforward dinosaur park, Dinosaur Land.

At Dinosaur Kingdom, visitors are guided along the path showing the grisly defeat of the Union Army by these terrible lizards. A big snake swallows a Yankee soldier whole; an Allosaurus rips a Union officer off of his rearing horse while his hapless companion futilely tries to lasso it. Several dinosaurs were even outfitted with motors and speakers, moving their jaws and wagging their tongues while cinematic music and sound effects are piped in through speakers.

Mark Cline makes his living building fiberglass statues of celebrities, historical figures, animals, and of course, dinosaurs. The inspiration for Dinosaur Kingdom, he says, came from the 1969 movie The Valley of Gwangii, in which cowboys romp with dinosaurs on the outskirts of a Mexican town. He had originally planned to depict the dinosaurs versus Pancho Villa's militia, but instead decided instead to play to Southern sympathies by casting the Union Army as the villains.

In 2012, both Dinosaur Kingdom and the adjacent Monster Museum were destroyed in a fire. At the time, Cline decided not to reopen, stating, “Everything becomes extinct one day.” However, in summer of 2016, Dinosaur Kingdom II reopened in all its splendor, complete with some of the original dinos and Union soldiers, plus a cyborg Stonewall Jackson to boot.

Related Tags

Civil War Us Civil War Army Military Military History Dinosaurs Dinosaur Parks Science Fiction Animals

Community Contributors

Added By

bryanwoerner

Edited By

Molly McBride Jacobson, erjeffery, e1savage, EPerry1...

  • Molly McBride Jacobson
  • erjeffery
  • e1savage
  • EPerry1
  • stellarsmiles
  • shazzerella85
  • Kavya Ram Mohan
  • jesscbatten
  • Traveler Tim
  • Maharaji Rastafari
  • curtistalls
  • Kraken
  • sheilashepard4
  • blackmonautomotive

Published

May 4, 2017

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Sources
  • http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/10790
  • http://io9.gizmodo.com/5084491/the-alternate-history-theme-park-where-dinosaurs-fought-in-the-civil-war
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinosaur_Kingdom
  • http://www.roadsideamerica.com/tip/53561
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinosaur_Kingdom
  • https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/2006/04/24/jurassic-lark-span-classbankheadwhat-do-dinosaurs-and-the-civil-war-have-in-common-mark-clines-artspan/039aa830-cb0d-4afa-a767-f640c616513e/?utm_term=.460ca58fc86d
  • http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/53561
  • http://www.wsls.com/video/dinosaur-kingdom-ii-opening-up-this-summer
Dinosaur Kingdom II
5781 S Lee Hwy
Natural Bridge, Virginia
United States
37.648994, -79.524831
Visit Website
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