The Connecticut Valley has an extensive history and is quite well known for its fossil-track discoveries. However, on Aug. 23, 1966, an integral part of Connecticut history was made when an unsuspecting construction worker by the name of Edward McCarthy was working on a new state building in Rocky Hill, Conn. As he lifted a large slab of gray sandstone with a bulldozer, he unearthed a piece of prehistoric past. McCarthy discovered what appeared to be six three-toed-dinosaur footprints.
The news of this astonishing discovery traveled fast, creating quite the media frenzy and becoming the hot topic at the water cooler among geologists and scientists. Nearly 2,000 footprints measuring up to 18-inches long were eventually revealed, making it one of the largest displays of dinosaur tracks in the world.
After this amazing find, a fence was quickly built to guard the tracks, and within a few weeks officials decided to preserve the site as a state park - naming it Dinosaur State Park, which opened its doors to the public two years later. The trackway is now a Registered Natural Landmark, because of its "exceptional value in illustrating the natural history of the United States."
Who would have thought that a little east coast town contained some of the most important clues to the ancient world of gigantic creatures? Travel back with us 200 million years as we explore this interesting prehistoric period and discover the ancient creatures that roamed the muddy marsh of the Connecticut Valley.
The graphic Footprints come to life
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