Three spectacular crinoid fossil plates from the Crawfordsville, Indiana area:
The first crinoid calyx collected from the Crawfordsville, Indiana area was by 9 year old Horace Hovey in 1842, who was collecting "encrinites" along the banks of Sugar Creek for sale. The magnificently-preserved specimens have been sought after ever since by scholars and collectors alike. While crinoids are found in a number of locations in the Crawfordsville area, the most abundant beds are those of Corey's Bluff and along Indian Creek, both of which are currently thought to be within the Edwardsville Formation (approximately 340 million years old). The Edwardsville Formation is dated as Late Osagean Stage in central and southern Indiana.