Jumbo Statue and Barnum Hall
Let's start our tour with Jumbo the elephant, our mascot, located in front of Barnum Hall on the academic quad.
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Jumbo Statue and Barnum Hall
🐘 Jumbo Statue and Barnum Hall
Jumbo the Elephant, Tuft's beloved mascot.
Jumbo Statue and Barnum Hall
So, who is Jumbo?
Jumbo is our giant elephant mascot. He was a part of PT Barnum's circus. If you've ever gone to see the Ringling Bro's, you might have heard of him there! Jumbo the elephant was probably Barnum's biggest investment, and I mean that literally. This guy was huge. Massive. He was so large, people started using his name to describe big things. You know "jumbo shrimp" "jumbo marshmallow"? All thanks to him! He also led a parade of elephants across the Brooklyn Bridge in NYC. No wonder he was the star of the greatest show on Earth.
According to the story, Jumbo died in a train accident after saving a dwarf elephant named Tom Thumb. Barnum then donated Jumbo's stuffed body to Tufts because, at that time, he was part of our Board of Trustees. And that's how Jumbo arrived to campus.
He was a huge hit with the students. You know how you rub a statue for good luck? We pulled on his tail instead…or at least we did until his tail fell off. If you're interested, that piece of him is stored in the archives at Tisch Library.
But, that's not the end of his story. Because if you notice, we don't have the stuffed elephant anymore. So, what happened?
In 1975, Barnum Hall, where Jumbo was housed, went up in an electrical fire. Our athletics director was passing by that night and he happened to have an empty peanut butter jar in his backpack. Because, who doesn't carry that around? The director scooped up the ashes of our elephant and there lies the rest of Jumbo. To this day, Jumbo’s ashes are stored in that jar in the athletic director’s office. Student-athletes from our 28 Division III teams - called Jumbos - shake the jar for good luck before their games. Our Jumbos participate in the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC), a group of eleven highly selective liberal arts colleges and universities.
As far as we know, we are the only university where our mascot has died twice. And well, that's the reason why we have a giant stone elephant instead! Hopefully, this one won't be destroyed any time soon.
Jumbo is our giant elephant mascot. He was a part of PT Barnum's circus. If you've ever gone to see the Ringling Bro's, you might have heard of him there! Jumbo the elephant was probably Barnum's biggest investment, and I mean that literally. This guy was huge. Massive. He was so large, people started using his name to describe big things. You know "jumbo shrimp" "jumbo marshmallow"? All thanks to him! He also led a parade of elephants across the Brooklyn Bridge in NYC. No wonder he was the star of the greatest show on Earth.
According to the story, Jumbo died in a train accident after saving a dwarf elephant named Tom Thumb. Barnum then donated Jumbo's stuffed body to Tufts because, at that time, he was part of our Board of Trustees. And that's how Jumbo arrived to campus.
He was a huge hit with the students. You know how you rub a statue for good luck? We pulled on his tail instead…or at least we did until his tail fell off. If you're interested, that piece of him is stored in the archives at Tisch Library.
But, that's not the end of his story. Because if you notice, we don't have the stuffed elephant anymore. So, what happened?
In 1975, Barnum Hall, where Jumbo was housed, went up in an electrical fire. Our athletics director was passing by that night and he happened to have an empty peanut butter jar in his backpack. Because, who doesn't carry that around? The director scooped up the ashes of our elephant and there lies the rest of Jumbo. To this day, Jumbo’s ashes are stored in that jar in the athletic director’s office. Student-athletes from our 28 Division III teams - called Jumbos - shake the jar for good luck before their games. Our Jumbos participate in the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC), a group of eleven highly selective liberal arts colleges and universities.
As far as we know, we are the only university where our mascot has died twice. And well, that's the reason why we have a giant stone elephant instead! Hopefully, this one won't be destroyed any time soon.
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