Centennial Terrace and Quarry / Fossil Park

In 1931, the France Stone Company ceased operations. Robert Burge leased 19 acres of the site for recreational swimming and opened Centennial Quarry in 1934. Five years later, Burge and associates opened Centennial Terrace, whose centerpiece was “Dancing Under the Stars,” an outdoor, 10,000 square-foot Terrazzo dance floor. Centennial Terrace was a regular stop for many big bands of the 1940s and ’50s. In 1969, the complex was donated to Lucas County and local band leaders kept the people dancing from 1971 to 1993. In 1994, the City of Sylvania leased the facility and renovated and reopened the quarry. The Sylvania Area Joint Recreation District purchased the complex in 2007 and made further improvements to insure that Centennial Terrace and Quarry remains a popular recreation destination.

[Side B]: Fossil Park opened on September 22, 2001, the result of a partnership by the City of Sylvania, Hanson Aggregates Midwest, Inc. and The Olander Park System. The park is where families and amateur and professional paleontologists alike can sift through silica shale formed under an ancient salt sea for fossils of the Devonian Era (359 to 416 million years ago). The quarries in the area are world-renowned for examples of the fossilized remains of the trilobite Phachops rana. The park opened the Quarry Ridge Bike Trail in 2006 and a solar-powered restroom facility in 2010.