Petrified

Architecture

Petrified wood has also been used in construction. The Petrified Wood Gas Station,GHF located on Main St Lamar, Colorado, was built in 1932 and consists of walls and floors constructed from pieces of petrified wood. The structure, built by W.G. Brown, has since been converted to office space and a used car dealership. Glen Rose, Texas provides even more examples of the use of fossilized wood in architecture. Beginning in the 1920s, the farmers of Somervell County, Texas began uncovering petrified trees. Local craftsmen and masons then built over 65 structures from this petrified wood, 45 of which were still standing as of June 2009. These structures include gas stations, flowerbeds, cottages, restaurants, fountains and gateposts. Glen Rose, Texas is also noted for Dinosaur Valley State Park and the Glen Rose Formation, where fossilized dinosaur footprints from the Cretaceous period can be viewed. Another example of the use of petrified wood in construction is the Agate House Pueblo in the Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona. Built by ancestral Pueblo people about 990 years ago, this eight-room building was constructed almost entirely out of petrified wood and is believed to have served as either a family home or meeting place.