In 1912, a Western Maryland Railway cut near Cumberland exposed a small cave that became known as Cumberland Bone Cave and was found to contain a remarkable variety of bones from species now extinct. Paleontologists from the Smithsonian Institution began excavation that same year, and between 1912 and 1916 they recovered the remains of more than 40 species of mammals, including 28 thought to be extinct. Many of the fossilized bones date to more than 200,000 years ago during the Pleistocene Epoch. Skeletons of the Cumberland Cave Bear and an extinct saber-toothed cat are on permanent exhibit at the National Museum of Natural History, and other fauna identified there include mastodons, coyotes, pumas, and even a crocodile. Today, very little of the cave remains exposed, though remnants may still be seen on the south wall of the railway cut at the level of the roadbed.
