Old Rip the Horned Toad

According to apparently authentic records and witnesses, a Texas horned toad (a type of lizard) was sealed in cornerstone of an Eastland courthouse built in 1897. In 1928 a new courthouse was erected, the prior cornerstone was opened, and the horned frog was found alive! The small animal received great publicity; was displayed nationally. When it died the following year of pneumonia, it was placed in a glass-front casket, on view in the present county courthouse.