Mindat Locality ID:
294601
Long-form identifier:
mindat:1:2:294601:9
Other/historical names associated with this locality:
Medusa Portland Cement Co. "North-north" Quarry; Yates Quarry
Fossil Park is a tourist attraction currently operated by the Olander Park System. It is located in the NE¼, section 7, Silica, Sylvania Township, Ohio. The rocks exposed in the park belong to the Devonian Dundee Limestone Formation, the Silica Formation and the Ten Mile Creek Dolomite, the latter two formations belonging to the Traverse Group (Kesling and Chilman, 1975, Kesling, 1978).
Fossil Park’s history dates back to the 1850's. Abram Yates, was the first person to quarry limestone at this location, though he was actually the second documented owner of the property. The Yates family then owned the property until 1922, when it was transferred to the Medusa Portland Cement Company, though it remained in idle status until the 1960's.
In the 1960's, the Medusa Portland Cement Company removed its idle status and re-opened the quarry as an extension to its “North” Quarry. Kesling referred to this locality as the Medusa Portland Cement Co. "North-north" Quarry. The property would then be transferred to the France Stone Co. in 1979 and this location along with the Medusa Portland Cement Company's “North” Quarry was later abandoned.
The next owner of Fossil Park was Hanson Aggregates Inc., in 1995. According to Gindy (2014), Hanson Aggregates constantly received requests from both professional and amateur fossil collectors who wished to collect in their Sylvania quarries. Several factors, including litigation and geologic hazards forced Hanson to turn away almost all requests. Two employees hired by Hanson; geologist Jeff Stoll and general manager Ron Tipton began to seek options on how to address the issue on how to allow collectors to study Sylvania’s fossils, while having them also not disrupt the operations of their quarries. Their solution was to open a park.
In 1999, the Olander Park System, along with Hanson Aggregates, Inc. and the city of Sylvania Township approved a proposal to develop a 10 acre site, which allowed granted collectors to study the fossils. Fossil Park officially opened in 2001 and has undergone several improvements to the site. The mascot of Fossil Park is a giant trilobite named “Lucky”, donated by Jeff and Judy Stoll.
List of minerals for each chemical element
Fossils
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References
