For the third of ten west coast fossil museums I am taking you to a private business with the name “Prehistoric” that is located right on highway 101 in Lincoln City, Oregon. I have visited this establishment two or three times each year since I first discovered it in 2015. Owner Douglas Bradstreet describes his museum/store as a location that “offers some of the world’s finest minerals, meteorites, and fossils that many will ever see.” I agree that I know of no better place in Oregon to find high quality examples of such things. I have noticed that while the displays were initially of mostly fossils and minerals, there have been many other items that I would describe as “oddities” that have been added over time. Bradstreet obtains many of the fossils directly from quarries and dealers in Morocco, Madagascar, Lebanon and other locales around the world.
Prehistoric in Lincoln City on Highway 101
Over the years I have purchased a number of fossils from Prehistoric and while the prices are very high, I have found that the owner will negotiate for lower prices on the more expensive items. I do recommend that prospective buyers check competitive prices for similar items on EBAY before going ahead to purchase any of the higher priced items.
Unfortunately Bradstreet interprets his goods and displays within the secular worldview of evolution and millions of years. As a biblical creationist I do not accept that any of his displays or merchandise are “prehistoric” since God has provided a history of everything from the very beginning in the Bible, so there is nothing truly prehistoric. There is a large Camarasaurus skeletal tail from Wyoming on display in the main front window that is one of the most complete fossils of its kind ever found. He has a price of $115,000 on this dinosaur fossil which is a price high enough that the tail has been on continuous display ever since I first visited in 2015.
Fossilized Camarasaurus Dinosaur Tail
Since all of the displays are available for sale that means that there is an ongoing variation in what can be seen at Prehistoric. For example, Bradstreet recently sold a nice complete dinosaur skeleton that had been on display for quite a while. He told me that he sold it to a museum in Canada.
Bipedal Dinosaur Skeleton Sold and No Longer on Display
One thing that has not changed is the animatronic T-rex dinosaur that meets you as you enter the museum. This dinosaur roars at all who walk in and that, of course, is something the kids love! In addition to the location in Lincoln City, there is another Prehistoric established in St. Augustine, Florida. You can get a certificate of Authenticity for any of the real fossils that you have purchased at both stores.
Animatronic T-rex at Prehistoric Entry
Nice Display of a Variety of Fossils
A Meteorites Display
A Minerals Display
Finally, I want to remind you that the Biblical Creationist worldview has a better explanation for the fossils found throughout the world in the rock record. The best explanation is that most fossils are the result of rapid burial during the cataclysmic global Flood at the time of Noah and as described in the book of Genesis. I think that Bible-believing Christians are people who should be collecting and displaying fossils more than the atheistic secularists. This is because we are the ones who have the best explanation for them.
J.D. Mitchell
