Nylander Museum

Located in Caribou, Maine, the Nylander Museum was dedicated in 1939 by Maine Governor Lewis Barrows. The museum was built as a WPA project. The museum's construction was jointly funded by federal, state, and municipal governments.

The museum was originally designed to house the collections of Olof O. Nylander, a self-taught naturalist from Oremolla, Skifvarps, Sweden. Born in 1864, Mr. Nylander became interested in natural history as a youth. His spare time was spent collecting fossils and mineral specimens. As a teenager he apprenticed as a house painter. He lived for two years in Stockholm, working as a painter and spent his free time visiting the many museums in Stockholm.

In 1883 he left Sweden and immigrated to the United States. For the first few years, he worked in Massachusetts, Florida and Rhode Island as a painter. In his free time he cultivated a keen interest in the natural sciences. His skills as a geologist were in demand. Olof was engaged by the U.S. Geological Survey as a field collector. He was also contracted by the Canadian Government and numerous colleges and universities to perform field research, or act as a guide.

Besides his geology and paleontology skills Olof was very knowledgeable of the flora and fauna, and the mollusca of Aroostook County, Maine and the adjoining areas in Canada. Some mollusk shell specimens he collected are as small as the head of a pin, and can be viewed by the public in our museum. He also wrote numerous scientific papers and booklets