History of the Park

The Petrified Forest became an official National Park on August 25, 1916. In 1853, Lieutenant Amiel Whipple was the first to write about the wood. He was on a government expedition to help build a railroad. In 1895, a bill was sent to Congress requesting that the Petrified Forest should become a National Park. The bill was denied. On December 8, 1906, President Theodore Roosevelt created the Petrified Forest National Monument. Finally, on August 25, 1916, the National Park Service was officially created, and the Petrified Forest became one of the 40 parks.The Petrified Forest is important, because it gives us a better understanding of the Chinle Formation, a time of formation of rocks and life in the vicinity of the park. .