I have found an overgrown, abandoned small quarry that is about a mile from the town of Perth as the town existed in 1859 at the edge of the Blueberry Marsh on property that was owned in 1859 by Mr. James Glen, and that lies in Concession III of Drummond Township. The rock in the quarry is flat lying white Nepean sandstone (Potsdam Group). Is this the quarry described by Sir William Logan where Dr. James Wilson and Mr. Richardson collected specimens of Climatichnites and Protichnites in the period from 1859 to 1882? Possibly. One side of the quarry is a sandstone ridge about 1.5 meters high and at least 15 meters long. Three other sides of the quarry meld into the Blueberry Marsh. The base of the quarry is about 15 meters by 10 meters and when I found the quarry this past winter was flooded and frozen. The owner of the property tells me that the base of the quarry, which in summer is a pond, is over a meter deep, half filled with water and half filled with silt.
The following photograph shows the quarry on January 27.
The following photograph shows the quarry on February 1.
The quarry meets the following criteria set out in Logan (1860) and (1863): it is composed of fine grained Potsdam Sandstone (which in Ontario we would now call the Nepean Formation of the Potsdam Group), the quarry is at least three feet deep, the beds in the quarry are flat lying, the quarry is about a mile from Perth as the town existed in 1859, the owner of the property in 1859 was either Mr. Glyn (Logan 1860) or Mr. Glen (Logan 1863), and the quarry is in Concession III of Drummond Township. The quarry is not in Lot 6 of Concession III, where Logan (1863) said the quarry was located, but in Lot 3. However, as noted in my blog posting that is part 2 of this series, Sir William Logan never visited the quarry, neither Mr. Glyn nor Mr. Glen owned property in Lot 6, and the most recent geologic mapping of Lot 6 suggests that Lot 6 is March Formation rather than Nepean sandstone .
The quarry also meets the following criteria for the quarry set out in an article written for Perth Historical and Antiquarian Society in about 1900: it is in the Blueberry Marsh on property owned by Mr. James Glen when Dr. James Wilson first found the specimens that Sir William Logan later named Climactichnites Wilsoni.
While I believe that this is likely the quarry that yielded the first slabs with Climactichnites wilsoni, it can only be verified as that quarry if it yields additional specimens of Climactichnites wilsoni (or perhaps Protichnites).
When I visited the quarry the last week of January and first week of February the ground was frozen and partially covered by snow. It was not possible to pry specimens out of the ground or moss off the rocks. A later snowfall buried the quarry in over a foot (30 cm) of snow. Two weeks ago the property owner allowed me to take a group of geologists to visit the quarry, and the five of us spent two hours stripping moss and soil, and then examining the rock that we had exposed. This introductory search did not reveal the trace fossils of most interest. The problem is that the quarry is overgrown and covered in soil and moss, and we do not know the layer where the trace fossils of interest can be found. We stripped away some of the soil and moss, which is generally about 3 - 8 cm thick, uncovering about 4 to 6 square meters of horizontal and vertical surface. In the sandstone we found vertical worm holes, which Dr. Donaldson identified as skolithos, and some small angular features that he thought might be traces of parts of microbial mats. There is very little overburden and glacial striae are visible on the surface rock. Cross-bedding is visible in one section of sandstone.
Getty and Hagadorn (2008) recognized two behavioral variants of Climactichnites, with Climactichnites wilsoni representing surface-produced trails, while Climactichnites youngi represents burrows produced below the surface. Figure 6 in Getty and Hagadorn (2008) shows three photographs of a Climactichnites youngi specimen from Quebec. Their third photograph is a cross section of the Climactichnites youngi burrow, which appears as a lensoid wedge-shaped sediment infill, much like my photo above.
Only further investigation will reveal whether the quarry that I have found is the one where Dr. James Wilson first found the trace fossil Climactichnites. However, it fits many of the criteria laid down by Sir William Logan and represents a good chance at being the quarry.
Below I have laid out how I found the quarry.
While searching for quarries in Drummond Township I looked at the book A History of Drummond Township, by John C. Ebbs, published in 1999. In the chapter entitled Fine Stone Homes of Drummond, Ebbs mentions a stone house on the E1/2 Lot 3, Concession 3 and that "It is believed the house was built by the owner, Mr. Glenn, c. 1848." No photo of the house appeared in the book. Driving around the southern third of Lot 3 I found an old stone house on the north side of Dufferin Road on the west half of Lot 3 that I thought might be the old ‘Glenn’ house. The house is constructed of white sandstone. Below is a photograph of the farmhouse. Stones in the walls exhibit the trace fossil diplocraterion.
I looked at the Registry Act pages for Lot 3, Concession III for the Township of Drummond. The Registry page for the West Half of Lot 3, Concession III reveals: (A) that by Quit Claim Deed dated March 12, 1844 Roderick Matheson granted to James Glen the North east half of the west half of lot 3; and (B) that by separate deeds dated from 1831 to 1845 Oliver Glen acquired other parts of the west half of lot 3. Their presence on Lot 3 is confirmed by the 1851 census for Canada West (now Ontario), which I found online, which shows that James Glen owned 76 acres and Oliver Glen owned 24 acres in Lot 3, Concession III of Drummond Township.
While at the Lanark Archives in Drummond Center in early January I was shown an article by Clyde Bell in a 1963 edition of the Perth Courier. Clyde Bell, at the time he wrote the article, was the Perth Museum’s director of information. Most of the article talked about Dr. James Wilson and the founding of the Perth Museum by Archie Campbell. Part of this article talked about Dr. James Wilson making a discovery on a farm belonging to John Glenn, in the blueberry marsh, of a fossil that was identified in Montreal as a mammoth mollusc. While some parts of the article are a bit bizarre, it seemed to describe the finding of Climactichnites, and to have been based on a conversation with a gentleman who as a young lad had accompanied Dr. Wilson when he found the fossil. The article concluded with Clyde Bell commenting "And by the way, we would like to know which farm in Drummond Township was formerly owned by John Glenn." When I read that article I wondered if"John Glenn" was a mistaken reference to the U.S. astronaut who was the first American to orbit the earth. In all likelihood it was, as John Glenn orbited the earth in 1962.
Subsequently I Googled key words from Clyde Bell’s article. This turned up a very similar article on The Lanark County Genealogical Society’s web page. The article is entitled Mining in Lanark County and bears the comment "This undated, unsigned typescript was probably written for the Perth Historical and Antiquarian Society, about 1900." A small part of that article describes the finding of Climactichnites, and again (and, more believably, given its date) appears to have been based on a conversation with a gentleman, Mr. John Hart, who as a young lad had accompanied Dr. Wilson when he found the fossil. One point that is worth noting is that while Clyde Bell’s article referred to the farm of "John Glenn", the original article from about 1900 referred to the farm of "James Glenn." Here is the part of the original article from "about 1900" that deals with the finding of Climactichnites:
"Dr. Wilson's practice led him over a large range of country. He took his hammer with him, and many a bag of stones was brought in for him by the farmers. Some of these he sent to the museum in Montreal, and they have since been removed with the rest of the collection to Ottawa.
What was to him his greatest discovery, was made on the farm of James Glenn. It is supposed the famous blueberry marsh was once a lake. The centre of it is depressed, and the hard ground surrounding it shows signs of ripple marks in thin strata from an inch or less to three inches in thickness. In these the Doctor thought he saw the trunks of fallen trees of a tropical climate. ... He sent specimens ten feet high to Montreal, which were examined by experts and declared to be something, that translated means "first tracks", the tracks of some mammoth mollusc."
I believe that article describes the large specimen of Climactichnites collected by Mr. Richardson in 1859 that hung in Sir William Logan’s office and measured about 10 feet by 7 feet.
If Clyde Bell had framed his question "Do any readers know which farm in Drummond Township was formerly owned by James Glenn?" or as "Do any readers know which farm in Drummond Township adjacent to the Blueberry Marsh was formerly owned by James Glenn at the time Dr. Wilson found the first specimens of Climactichnites?" perhaps he would have received the answer that a "James Glen" had owned such a farm on the North east half of the west half of lot 3, Concession III.
I decided to test my belief that it was worth looking for a quarry on property that was owned after 1844 by James Glen that falls in the North east half of the west half of lot 3, Concession III, Drummond Township where the Blueberry Marsh encroaches on the farm, and identified the most likely location using Google Satellite view. On a sunny, refreshing (minus 11 degrees Celsius) day in January I went for a hike to look for a quarry in the Blueberry Marsh and within a few minutes of arriving at the spot I had identified, found angular pieces of fine grained white sandstone and the side of what I believed to be an overgrown, moss encrusted, shallow quarry. The snow, ice, frozen moss and frozen ground made looking for specimens difficult, and I found none exhibiting Climactichnites or Protichnites. After a few warm days at the end of January had melted more of the snow, I went back on a frigid day in February to again visit the quarry and take additional photographs.
I should add that my wife accompanied me on my first visit to the quarry in late January. While I had asked four others whether they wanted to go for a hike in the Blueberry Marsh to look for a quarry, all of them were too busy, and a few were busy until April. And there wasn’t even that much snow on the ground.
Further visits to the quarry are planned with a number of geologists that have expressed an interest in visiting the quarry. I will post if we find the trace fossils of most interest.
Christopher P. Brett
Perth, Ontario
Below I have laid out how I found the quarry.
While searching for quarries in Drummond Township I looked at the book A History of Drummond Township, by John C. Ebbs, published in 1999. In the chapter entitled Fine Stone Homes of Drummond, Ebbs mentions a stone house on the E1/2 Lot 3, Concession 3 and that "It is believed the house was built by the owner, Mr. Glenn, c. 1848." No photo of the house appeared in the book. Driving around the southern third of Lot 3 I found an old stone house on the north side of Dufferin Road on the west half of Lot 3 that I thought might be the old ‘Glenn’ house. The house is constructed of white sandstone. Below is a photograph of the farmhouse. Stones in the walls exhibit the trace fossil diplocraterion.
I looked at the Registry Act pages for Lot 3, Concession III for the Township of Drummond. The Registry page for the West Half of Lot 3, Concession III reveals: (A) that by Quit Claim Deed dated March 12, 1844 Roderick Matheson granted to James Glen the North east half of the west half of lot 3; and (B) that by separate deeds dated from 1831 to 1845 Oliver Glen acquired other parts of the west half of lot 3. Their presence on Lot 3 is confirmed by the 1851 census for Canada West (now Ontario), which I found online, which shows that James Glen owned 76 acres and Oliver Glen owned 24 acres in Lot 3, Concession III of Drummond Township.
While at the Lanark Archives in Drummond Center in early January I was shown an article by Clyde Bell in a 1963 edition of the Perth Courier. Clyde Bell, at the time he wrote the article, was the Perth Museum’s director of information. Most of the article talked about Dr. James Wilson and the founding of the Perth Museum by Archie Campbell. Part of this article talked about Dr. James Wilson making a discovery on a farm belonging to John Glenn, in the blueberry marsh, of a fossil that was identified in Montreal as a mammoth mollusc. While some parts of the article are a bit bizarre, it seemed to describe the finding of Climactichnites, and to have been based on a conversation with a gentleman who as a young lad had accompanied Dr. Wilson when he found the fossil. The article concluded with Clyde Bell commenting "And by the way, we would like to know which farm in Drummond Township was formerly owned by John Glenn." When I read that article I wondered if"John Glenn" was a mistaken reference to the U.S. astronaut who was the first American to orbit the earth. In all likelihood it was, as John Glenn orbited the earth in 1962.
Subsequently I Googled key words from Clyde Bell’s article. This turned up a very similar article on The Lanark County Genealogical Society’s web page. The article is entitled Mining in Lanark County and bears the comment "This undated, unsigned typescript was probably written for the Perth Historical and Antiquarian Society, about 1900." A small part of that article describes the finding of Climactichnites, and again (and, more believably, given its date) appears to have been based on a conversation with a gentleman, Mr. John Hart, who as a young lad had accompanied Dr. Wilson when he found the fossil. One point that is worth noting is that while Clyde Bell’s article referred to the farm of "John Glenn", the original article from about 1900 referred to the farm of "James Glenn." Here is the part of the original article from "about 1900" that deals with the finding of Climactichnites:
"Dr. Wilson's practice led him over a large range of country. He took his hammer with him, and many a bag of stones was brought in for him by the farmers. Some of these he sent to the museum in Montreal, and they have since been removed with the rest of the collection to Ottawa.
What was to him his greatest discovery, was made on the farm of James Glenn. It is supposed the famous blueberry marsh was once a lake. The centre of it is depressed, and the hard ground surrounding it shows signs of ripple marks in thin strata from an inch or less to three inches in thickness. In these the Doctor thought he saw the trunks of fallen trees of a tropical climate. ... He sent specimens ten feet high to Montreal, which were examined by experts and declared to be something, that translated means "first tracks", the tracks of some mammoth mollusc."
I believe that article describes the large specimen of Climactichnites collected by Mr. Richardson in 1859 that hung in Sir William Logan’s office and measured about 10 feet by 7 feet.
If Clyde Bell had framed his question "Do any readers know which farm in Drummond Township was formerly owned by James Glenn?" or as "Do any readers know which farm in Drummond Township adjacent to the Blueberry Marsh was formerly owned by James Glenn at the time Dr. Wilson found the first specimens of Climactichnites?" perhaps he would have received the answer that a "James Glen" had owned such a farm on the North east half of the west half of lot 3, Concession III.
I decided to test my belief that it was worth looking for a quarry on property that was owned after 1844 by James Glen that falls in the North east half of the west half of lot 3, Concession III, Drummond Township where the Blueberry Marsh encroaches on the farm, and identified the most likely location using Google Satellite view. On a sunny, refreshing (minus 11 degrees Celsius) day in January I went for a hike to look for a quarry in the Blueberry Marsh and within a few minutes of arriving at the spot I had identified, found angular pieces of fine grained white sandstone and the side of what I believed to be an overgrown, moss encrusted, shallow quarry. The snow, ice, frozen moss and frozen ground made looking for specimens difficult, and I found none exhibiting Climactichnites or Protichnites. After a few warm days at the end of January had melted more of the snow, I went back on a frigid day in February to again visit the quarry and take additional photographs.
I should add that my wife accompanied me on my first visit to the quarry in late January. While I had asked four others whether they wanted to go for a hike in the Blueberry Marsh to look for a quarry, all of them were too busy, and a few were busy until April. And there wasn’t even that much snow on the ground.
Further visits to the quarry are planned with a number of geologists that have expressed an interest in visiting the quarry. I will post if we find the trace fossils of most interest.
Christopher P. Brett
Perth, Ontario
[Addendum: April 26, 2023: I added the references to Getty and Hagadorn's paper.]
Reference
Getty, Patrick Ryan and James W. Hagadorn, 2008
Reinterpretation of Climactichnites Logan 1860 to Include Subsurface Burrows, and Erection of Musculopodus for Resting Traces of the Trailmaker. Journal of Paleontology Vol. 82, No. 6 (Nov., 2008), pp. 1161-1172
Hello, fascinating postings about Climactichnites and protinchnites, thanks so much for these. I live in Ottawa and am interested in the local paleotology, so I am interested to know if you did find further trackways at this site. Also, the original Climactichnites wilsoni you have posted about from Perth, which was once hanging on the walls of Logan's office...do you know the current location of this specimen, what museum, and if it is on display? Thanks
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