Petrified Wood

Petrified Wood. . , In this area you will find four large pieces of petrified wood which were saved by Billie and Roy Edward (Ed) Cooper during the construction of the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport in the late 1960s and early in 1970. The Cooper's home was located on what is now Airfield Drive in Grapevine near the present site of Simuflite Training International. In 1970, their house was moved to Colleyville along with many fossils and pieces of petrified wood which they had collected from the area following blasting for construction of the new airport., Billie and Ed Cooper and their children became quite well known for their archeological investigations during the airport construction years. "We worked diligently to find and save all the fossils and petrified wood we could before the airport put concrete down and sealed it all in forever," Cooper says. "We sought the help of educators from the University of Texas at Arlington to identify the treasures. UTA's geology department head at the time, John Boon, estimated that the fossils we found were between 70 and 90 million years old and the petrified wood was several thousand years old," she states., The petrified wood adds to Grapevine's collection of ancient treasures, including dinosaur footprint castings on display in the Grapevine Historical Museum. Petrified wood is formed when trees are buried in sediment and the wood is penetrated by water rich in silica. Gradually wood fibers become replaced by silica and other minerals, and the logs are converted to stone. Blasting, to make way for giant drainage pipes for the airport, dislodged crustaceous rock from a vein of the Woodbine and Eagleford Formations and freed fossilized sea animals and huge petrified trees., "I am thankful that Grapevine appreciates the artifacts of its history, and even its ancient history," Cooper laughs. "I know our family certainly enjoyed studying the marvels of nature, and we are thrilled that Grapevine's petrified wood is on display near the Heritage Garden for everyone to see," she says., The Cooper's petrified wood is donated to the City of Grapevine and placed on display on this 16th day of October, 1999 during the 2nd Annual Butterfly Flutterby.