New Display of Dr. James Wilson’s Mineral And Fossil Collection at the Perth Museum

On October 14, 2012 the Perth Museum at Matheson House on Gore Street in Perth, Ontario will be opening to the public its new Geology Exhibition, which will feature a display of part of the mineral and fossil collection of Dr. James Wilson, one of Canada’s most important amateur geologists. The Perth Museum began in 1925 with the donation of the mineral and fossil collection of Dr. James Wilson and it is fitting that this display features his collection.

Dr. James Wilson (1798-1881) was a medical graduate of Edinburgh University in Scotland who emigrated to Canada and practiced as a physician in Perth, Ontario from 1821 to 1869. Dr. Wilson had no formal training in geology, but was an amateur mineralogist and geologist. Today Dr. Wilson is remembered for being the person who first found four things:
 - first, Perthite, an exsolution texture in feldspar;
 - second, the trace fossil Climactichnites Wilsoni, the track of a giant slug from the Cambrian that was one of the first creatures to exit the oceans and ‘walk’ on land;

 - third, the semi-precious mineral Wilsonite; and

 - fourth, Peristerite, a variety of Albite with bluish opalescence.

Perthite was found by Dr. Wilson in pegmatite approximately 10 kilometers south of Perth in North Burgess Township. Climactichnites was found by Dr. Wilson in a quarry in Drummond Township about a mile north of the town of Perth. Wilsonite  and Peristerite were found in Bathurst Township, which is west of Perth.  Both Climactichnites Wilsoni and Wilsonite were named after Dr. Wilson by members of the Geological Survey of Canada.

The display in the Perth Museum’s new Geology Exhibition will include samples of Wilsonite and Perthite. Also on display are a silver brooch featuring Wilsonite and a silver necklace featuring Perthite, both made for the exhibit by Stephen Clark of Lanark County. In addition the exhibit will include two specimens of Climactichnites Wilsoni from Dr. Wilson’s collection. Photos of the two specimens of Climactichnites are provided below.  The tracks are about 15 cm (6 inches) wide.

The astute reader of this blog will note that one is an original trail on a bed top while the other is the natural cast from an overlying bed sole, that they are not mirror images of one another, and that while they may be parts of the same track, are not two parts split from the same rock.

To the left I’ve provided a photograph of a specimen of gastropods collected from North Burgess Township in Lanark County that will be part of the display.

Other fossils that will be included in the display are fossil fish from the Leda Clay in Green’s Creek (then in Gloucester Township and now part of the City of Ottawa) and stromatoporoids.

Michael Bainbridge has provided the following photographs of Wilsonite, Perthite and the jewellery made by Stephen Clark for the new Geology Exhibition.

While Dr. Wilson is remembered today for Perthite, Climactichnites Wilsoni and Wilsonite, Dr. Wilson should be remembered for much more than this. He was instrumental in bringing many mineral, fossil and rock occurrences to the attention of the Geological Survey of Canada, he accompanied members of the survey to the rock, mineral and fossil locations, and he was instrumental in the development of the apatite mines (for use as a fertilizer) and mica mines in North Burgess Township. He was also an avid collector of minerals and fossils, and the Town of Perth is fortunate to have his collection form part of the collection of the Perth Museum.

Sir William Logan, the first head of the Geological Survey of Canada, acknowledged Dr. Wilson’s contribution to the study of geology in the Preface to his book the Geology of Canada with the following words:

"Although Dr. James Wilson, who practised during many years as a physician at Perth, in the county of Lanark, has personally communicated little to the public, he has devoted considerable attention to the natural history of the district in which he resided, and has enriched the mineralogy of the province by the discovery of several very interesting species. To him  we are indebted for pointing out the sandstone bed near Perth, from which were obtained the specimens of Climactichnites Wilsoni; and we have on several occasions, received from him information regarding the occurrence in his own neighborhood of minerals capable of economic application." [Logan (1863), Geology of Canada, Geological Survey of Canada, Report of Progress from Its Commencement to 1863; Page xi]

The text of the Geology of Canada hints at the extent of Dr. Wilson’s contributions. Dr. Wilson is mentioned in the text of the Geology of Canada as providing specimens resembling  Stromatopora rugosa [that were later named Eozoon canadense]  (at page 48, 49); as the person who discovered Climactichnites in a quarry in Drummond Township (pages 107, 108); as the person who discovered the mineral Wilsonite in Bathurst Township (at page 467 and 483); as providing information on the location and thickness of a bed of iron ore in South Sherbrooke Township (page 674); as discovering plumbago (graphite) of a good quality in the township of Burgess (page 795); as providing specimens of a "fine red granite" for possible use as a building stone (page 812); as finding a "pale green serpentine, marked with red" in Burgess Township for use as an ornamental stone (page 824); and as bringing to public notice the locations of the minerals Peristerite in Bathurst Township and Perthite in Burgess Township (page 833).

In the first line of the preceding paragraph I deliberately used the word "hints" in "hints at the extent of Dr. Wilson’s contributions" because his name is often mentioned in earlier reports by the Geological Survey of Canada, and in other literature from the mid 1800's. For example, in Volume II of Canada: Past, Present and Future, Being a Historical, Geographical, Geological and Statistical Account of Canada West, by W. H. Smith that was published in 1851, the author describes (at pages 325 - 330) a visit to Perth by Mr. Sterry Hunt of the Geological Survey of Canada, and provides an account of the mineral localities visited by Mr. Hunt in company with Dr. Wilson and mineral specimens in Dr. Wilson’s collection. Mr. Hunt starts off his report on the geology of the Perth area by noting "This has already been explored to a considerable extent by Dr. Wilson, of Perth, a gentleman who, notwithstanding the duties of an extensive practice, has been able to devote considerable attention to the natural history of his district, and to enrich the mineralogy of the Province by the discovery of many very interesting minerals." Mr. Hunt then describes visiting various outcrops in the company of Dr. Wilson to look at the minerals apatite, copper pyrites, silvery mica, corundum, perthite, and sphene. He also provides a description of a "vein of heavy spar or sulphate of barytes in gneiss," noting that "I was not able to examine the vein in person, but, am indebted for the above account of it, to the accurate observations of Dr. Wilson, and the specimens kindly furnished to me by him. The book also quotes Mr. Hunt as saying "There were many other interesting minerals which had been observed by Dr. Wilson, and which I should have visited but that the localities were often such as could not be found without a guide, but with great difficulty, and the professional duties of Dr. Wilson prevented him from accompanying me." The minerals that he was able to describe based on Dr. Wilson’s specimens included peristerite from Bathurst Township, labradorite from Drummond Township, black tourmaline and bytownite from Bathurst Township, manganesian hornblende and asbestos from Lanark Township, anthophyllite, and spodumene from Bathurst Township.


The preparation of the display for the new Geology Exhibition at the Perth Museum has been co-ordinated by Michael Bainbridge, Recreational Geology Project Co-ordinator for the Ontario Highlands Tourism Organization. Dr. Al Donaldson (formerly a professor of Geology at Carleton University), Beth Halfkenny, Curator, Department of Earth Sciences, Carleton University, and others have helped prepare the display. The Museum is fortunate to have Dr. Donaldson working on the display. Not only is he a tireless promoter of Geoheritage in the Ottawa valley, he is an expert on stromatolites and stromatoporoids, and was able to identify one of the samples as stromatoporoids.


See you at the Perth Museum.

Regards,
Chris Brett

Perth, Ontario

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Addendum:
Additional samples of Stephen Clark’s custom jewellery can be seen at
http://artisanontario.ca/stephen-clark/
http://twohorsegallery.com/?page_id=52
and on his web site at http://www.smallwonderjewellery.com/