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The Staunton Parks and Recreation Department's Fall Brochure is due out on September 2, 2011.  Copies can be picked up at any local library, Staunton City Hall, Montgomery Hall Park Administrative Office and many local coffee shops.  The direct mailed version should be in boxes around September 3rd-6th. If you follow this blog you are aware that this particular brochure will focus on the History of Gypsy Hill Park.  The following post was an essay submitted by Ken Bosserman regarding the Geologic History of Gypsy Hill Park.  Ken took several Geology classes at the University of Virginia where he graduated.  He then implemented his knowledge when teaching his class at Robert E. Lee. His knowledge of the Pulaski-Staunton Fault has been passed on to his high school students who remember the field trip to Churchville Avenue to view the actual fault. Due to the recent earthquake it seemed appropo post his essay in advance of the brochure.  The brochure will be live on-line on August 29th at www.stauntonparksandrecreationrevolution.com.
Staunton-Pulaski Fault Line

This map is from the William and Mary website

 
THE GEOLOGIC HISTORY OF GYPSY HILL PARK
The geologic history of the Staunton area, as well as Gypsy Hill Park, goes back a long time, some 500 million years ago when this area, as well as all of the United States east coast was a shallow sea.
During that period, vast amounts of sediment accumulated from decayed marine algae and other organisms which solidified into today’s limestones and shales that dot the area. Even today in those numerous layers of rock, fossils from prehistoric times, such as graptolites and brachiopods (which look like modern sea shells) can be found in formations along Statler Boulevard and New Hope Road.
But the shallow sea which covered the area was not to last. Tectonic forces caused by the collision of continental plates soon formed the Appalachian Mountains and its associated valley and ridge provinces that include the Blue Ridge, Alleghenies and Valley of Virginia where Staunton is located. This was completed approximately 250 million years ago.
As this area formed, folded rock layers sometimes broke, thrusting one on top of the other. The result was numerous fault lines, one of those being the Pulaski-Staunton fault which originates north of the city, extends southwestward through the valley to Bristol, and into North Carolina.
This fault line is no longer active. But its evidence is quite visible in Gypsy Hill Park, and is the main reason for the park.
At the extreme north end of Gypsy Hill Park, the fault which is about 40- 60 feet wide, cuts through the park, and southward through the city. It can be seen in the road cut along the side of Churchville Avenue, approaching where the former Tastee Freez is located.
Here, the over thrust of the Conocheague and Beekmantown limestones, rock layers dating back 450 million years is quite evident. The powers of a fault can be seen in the fault breccia which is composed of large blocks of dolomite, and crushed conglomerate. It has a twisted and chewed up appearance caused by the thrusting, and is very visible as you drive by, or stop to observe.
This wrenching of the rock created porous openings, and opportunities for water to reach the surface, and hence the many springs that are found in the park.
Gum Spring Branch, the small stream that originates in the upper end of the park, starts from one of these springs, and is fed by others along the way. One of those springs is about 45 feet downstream from the bridge near the Kiwanis Field concession stand where water is seen bubbling up, and the other is next to the creek near the children’s swimming pool where water actually pours into the stream.
Some remain open springs. For example, Lake Tams can never be totally drained because there is a spring in its middle. Another one exists in the small lake next to the No. 2 hole on the Gypsy Hill Golf Course. And spring water is what feeds the Gypsy Hill duck pond.
Many springs in the park have been capped. You see those in the six-sided hexagonal structures just about two to four feet high and 10 feet wide. One is next to the Kiwanis Baseball Field concession stand, and another just beyond the right field fence of the Kiwanis’ May Baseball Field. And there is one behind the old pump house (Stonewall Brigade Band Building) at the entrance to the park
It was these springs that attracted roving bands of gypsies to the area in the 19th century and hence the name for the park. And at one time, it was these numerous springs that was the source of Staunton’s water supply.
The Pulaski-Staunton fault is no longer active, so there will be no felt earthquakes any more. But its geology remains for all to see.

This Staunton "Parks and Recreation Blog" was posted by Jennifer Jones, Superintendent of Recreation.
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