Designated NHL November 4, 1993 Added to NRHP 4 November 1993 | NRHP Reference # 93001617 Area 1 ha | |
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The fossil hunter soldiers home reef
Soldiers' Home Reef, also known as Rocky Point, National Military Asylum Reef, or Veterans' Hill is a fossilized coral reef rock formation in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It is a National Historic Landmark.
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The formation is located northeast of the junction of Wood Avenue and General Mitchell Boulevard, on the Clement J. Zablocki Veterans Affairs Medical Center grounds.
History
The fossilized reef was formed during the Silurian period of the Paleozoic Era
The reef formation was discovered by geologist Increase A. Lapham. It and other fossilized coral reefs that he discovered are the first geological reef formations described in North America, and are among the first described in the world.
Soldiers' Home Reef was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1993. The adjacent Milwaukee Soldiers Home and Northwestern Branch, National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers Historic District is also a National Historic Landmark in Milwaukee.