Road crews uncovered large petrified tree at Old Texas in 1972

George Buster Singleton

(For decades, local historian and paranormal investigator George “Buster” Singleton published a weekly newspaper column called “Somewhere in Time.” The column below, which was titled “Petrified tree found in Monroe County” was originally published in the June 8, 1972 edition of The Monroe Journal in Monroeville, Ala.)

In the northeastern corner of Monroe County, only a short distance from where the two counties join (Butler and Monroe), one of the most unusual rock formations that I have ever seen has been uncovered. The Monroe County Commission has begun construction on a short stretch of road that will run to the Butler County line. When this piece of road is completed, it will mean that the county will be spanned with pavement.

During the process of moving dirt from atop a small hill and hauling it down below with the big earth-moving machinery, this unusual rock and fossil bed as uncovered. Engineering Assistant James E. Cobb of Finchburg told me that he had never seen anything like this formation. Upon hearing this, we made arrangements and were soon heading up through Old Texas to the construction site to view these strange shaped rocks and to take pictures.

Many of the rocks were perfectly round, varying in size, from about 12 inches in diameter, to almost three feet. There were many shapes and forms, but the most unusual of all was a petrified tree. Although it had been broken by the heavy machinery when it was being pushed from the right of way, a portion of the trunk was still intact. About 18 feet of the lower part of the trunk can be seen. The diameter of this petrified wonder is close to 20 inches. Its shape is almost perfect, as one can see where the limbs joined the main body of the tree before the petrifying process took place.

Some of the smaller rocks had been crushed by the wheels of the heavy machinery during the earth moving operation. Inside these rocks can be seen the small pieces of wood (petrified) that have lain there for centuries. Many multicolored stones were in evidence among the strange collection of nature’s mysteries.

One of the strangest and most unusual facts about these rocks were their shapes and what they resembled. Some were the shape of a huge chicken leg (drum stick). Others resembled the wish bone. Some looked like huge watermelons, while others were shaped like small animals. One that impressed me a lot was shaped like a huge clover leaf.

As we stood and looked at the strange handiwork that Mother Nature had fashioned, many thousands of years ago, when the earth was restless and changing, I compared the life of man, his life span, to the ages of these rocks and the time it has taken to form these wonders of nature. Man’s lifespan in comparison was like the blinking of an eye.

[This story also included a photo taken by Singleton that carried the following caption: Part of petrified log that was uncovered above Old Texas.]

(Singleton, the author of the 1991 book “Of Foxfire and Phantom Soldiers,” passed away at the age of 79 on July 19, 2007. A longtime resident of Monroeville, he was born to Vincent William Singleton and Frances Cornelia Faile Singleton, during a late-night thunderstorm, on Dec. 14, 1927 in Marengo County, graduated from Sweet Water High School in 1946, served as a U.S. Marine paratrooper in the Korean War, worked as a riverboat deckhand, lived for a time among Apache Indians, moved to Monroe County on June 28, 1964 and served as the administrator of the Monroeville National Guard unit from June 28, 1964 to Dec. 14, 1987. He was promoted from the enlisted ranks to warrant officer in May 1972. For years, Singleton’s columns, titled “Monroe County history – Did you know?” and “Somewhere in Time” appeared in The Monroe Journal, and he wrote a lengthy series of articles about Monroe County that appeared in Alabama Life magazine. It’s believed that his first column appeared in the March 25, 1971 edition of The Monroe Journal. He is buried in Pineville Cemetery in Monroeville. The column above and all of Singleton’s other columns are available to the public through the microfilm records at the Monroe County Public Library in Monroeville. Singleton’s columns are presented here each week for research and scholarship purposes and as part of an effort to keep his work and memory alive.)