Evening star., 1927-08-07
OLD MONROE TRACT
MAY YIELD FOSSILS
Blue Ridge Foothills to Be
Explored for Remains
of Dinosaurs.
EY WILL p. KENNEDY.


on the sands of Time"
That is exactly what some great
unthinxing animals-now extinct
did some S0,o00.0o0 years ago III
the wet sand some 35 miles from
what is now the National Capital,
and sand and mud filtered into
these mold-like tracks, which the
following ages turned into stone. Thus
was the record of the past centuries
enduringly preserved for our advanced
civilization and learning, imprinted on
the rock formation of the foothills OF
the Blue Ridge Mountains of Vir-
ginia centuries ago.
Excavations are to be made this
Fall on the Oak Hill estate on which
President James Monroe built his
home in 1921. near Aldie in Loudoun
County nine miles from LeesburC,
Va, in an optimistic attempt to find
skeletons ot the dinosaurs that made
these tracks.
Great claw tracks, tail and belly I'M
pressions revealing the armor scales
of the giant reptiles, some of them in
consecutive series showing the course
and stride of the creatures have al.
) ready DcSn SluOlSU DS bdTutHl DioNl IL,
curator of fossil reptiles in the Ameri-
can Museum OF Natural History of
New York City, who win direct the
work this Fall. They have been stud
led also by c. w. Gilmore, curator of
vertebrate paleontology in the Ma
tional Museum, and DR.. J. G. Merriam,
president of the Carnegie Institution.
Tracks i'm Old Quarry.
When Frank c. Littleton. native
of the Piedmont region and now owner
of the old Monroe estate, was making
some renovations in 1928, he found it
desirable to match the flag-stones
(which Mr.. Monroe had placed in the
floor of the south piazza. After con-
siderable search the quarry Monroe
used was found on the property. In
taking out the flags it was noticed by
Mr.. Littleton that their surfaces were
covered with numerous and regular
impressions which appeared to be the
footprints of animals. He brought
his find to the attention of the author
ities in the United States National
Museum. who pronounced them to be
of dinosaurian origin in the Triassic
period. which is the fifth great geo.
logic period as we trace the ages.
Leading scientists Of the country
became interested. The find at Oak
Hill was officially chronicled in the
report OF the Virginia State geologist
and the annual report Of the Smith.
sonian Institution. 1t was of rnomen-
tous importance, being the first con.
ifirmation to science that the Piedmont
section of Virginia was once immersed
and had been correctly classified as
Triassic. Since the discovery in the
Oak Hill quarry the study of dino
saurs and prehistoric reptiles has been
given new impetus. 1t was in the
Triassic period that the dinosaur first
appeared in geological history.
Thomas Jefferson was the first to
point to the possibilities of traces of
prehistoric animals in this region by
describing in 1797.1799 in written
treatise the finding of fossilized bones
of the megalonyx. a giant extinct
sloth. Jefferson had a claw or two on
which to base his article and these are
now exhibited in special case in the
University Of Virginia.
First Found I'm This Section.
The tracks in the Oak Hill quarry
were the first to be found anywhere
in this part of the country, although
the Connecticut River Valley in New
England has long0been famous for its
fossil strata. It was exactly a cen
tury and a quarter ago that Pliny
Moody plowed up In his Connecticut
farm rock showing small three.toed
imprints similar to those in Monroe's
old quarry at Oak Hill. They be-
came popularity known as the tracks
of Noah's raven" More than 100
kinds Of tracks have been studied in
the Connecticut Valley.
A specimen from the Oak Hill
quarry, which Mr.. Littleton presented
to the National Museum and which is
now on exhibition there, shows clearly
two strides of the dinosaur measuring
53 inches. It is estimated from some
of the tracks in the Oak Hill quarry
that a majority Of the dinosaurs who
made that region their playground
were about 80 feet long and stood Is
feet high.
Emphasizing the Importance of the
hunt for the fossil skeleton remains
this Fall and the rarity of find IL one
is made, Mr.. Gilmore points out that,
though thousands of tracks have been
found in Connecticut, only five or six
partial skeletons have been unearthed
In more than a century Of exploration.
| The footprints so fascinated Mr..
Littleton that he has had special
search made for slabs containing the
best preserved series of tracks, and
these he has laid in the flooring of
new porches and walks around the
old home that Monroe had built more
than a century ago.
Slabs Marked by Imprints.
One especially fine, large specimen
has been made the hearthstone of the
great fireplace in Mr.. Littleton's study
In the breakfast porch on the west
end of the house stone floor has been
laid that is a veritable museum OF
ldinosaur impressions.
While this work was in progress
the stone laid by Mr.. Monroe on the
south piazza was carefully scrutinized
1t was found to contain dinosaul
tracks partially obliterated by chise
to make the floor surface not too un
even and by the footwear Of the pas
century. One very clear impression
was unspoiled in the very center O
flagstone, which apparently hat
. never aroused Monroe's curiosity ant
speculation, as no reference to 1t ha
been found during a careful stud,
of his papers.
Mr. Brown spent some time will
Mr.. Littleton looking over the terri
tory adjacent to Oak Hill, believing
that fossil remains Of the prehistori
ISplIlSS may DC lOuHd liAO NA1iihI5
He is of the opinion that the geologi
formation warrants the belief tha
such fossilized skeletons may be dis
coverable. He proposes to make
very diligent search just as soon a
vegetation is dead so that the invest
cation can be more easily carried or
Playground of Reptiles.
According to the statements Q
these expert geologists, the area o
which Oak Hill stands was evidently
ages ago. a tidal basin and the play
gr6und for these reptiles. They plac
the date about 80, 100000 years age
On the most conspicuous expose
surface in the quarry Is q SandSton