Cairo Historical Society

Did you know...

Cairo is home to the oldest geologic site in the world, with evidence of a prehistoric forest dating back roughly 387 million years. In 2012, an archaeological dig at a stone quarry on town property discovered the remains of some of the earliest trees to evolve.  These Devonian period fossil root systems form the footprint of an ancient stand of trees belonging to the world’s oldest known forest. Evidence of an extinct, palm-like tree named cladoxylopsid was discovered, as well as conifer relative (archaeopteris) that may be the missing link between trees that reproduce with spores (like ferns) and the seed bearing trees we know today.

(Photo from: Claude Haton.)