In Search of Fossils

In Search of Fossils. . After a large earthquake in 1868 on the Hayward Fault, Dr. Lorenzo Gordon Yates, a dentist, discovered fossils on what is now Osgood Road in the Irvington District. Many were identified as extinct Pleistocene horses, camelids, and mammoths. In 1871, he excavated a tusk and jaw of a mastodon that was the most complete jaw discovered in California at the time., In 1936, a young paleontologist from the University of California, Berkeley, Dr. Ruben A. Stirton, began excavations in the Irvington gravel pits after a fossilized horse jaw was found there. He and his colleagues realized that the site probably contained early Pleistocene fossils, and found an antelope new to science. Later in his career, Stirton mentored Donald E. Savage. Savage went on to define the Irvingtonian North American Land Mammal Age in 1951., The “Boy Paleontologists,” a group of boys from Hayward, excavated fossils in the Bell Quarry from 1943 to 1959. Led by Wesley Gordon, the boys unearthed about 150,000 fossils from 58 species. The contribution of the Boy Paleontologists marked the beginning of an ongoing relationship between the local community and researchers that continues to this day, and helped preserve Sabercat Canyon as a park., Images: , Dr. Lorenzo Gordon Yates, Dr. Ruben A. Stirton, The “Boy Paleontologists” excavated fossils at Bell Quarry in Fremont, led by Wesley Gordon (center). Pictured left to right: William Charles (front), Wesley Gordon Jr., Wesley Gordon Sr., Anna Bell (with dog), Roy Kent, and Phillip Gordon., The “Boy Paleontologists” excavating fossils at Eden Canyon in Hayward.