In the recently released Old West Christmas Brides collection, Chimney Rock plays an important part of my story.
Located in Nebraska, this rock formation was one of the many prairie “registers” along the pioneer trails leading west, and could be seen from as far as thirty miles away. Some considered it the eighth wonder of the world.
Thousands of travelers carved or painted signatures onto these “registers.” Sometimes they left messages to those traveling behind.
Those in a hurry would simply hire one of the businessmen who had set up shop at the base of the rocks to carve or paint signatures for a fee. Travelers would often add hometowns and date of passage.
The best known “Register of the desert” was Independence Rock. Travelers beginning their westbound trip in the spring tried to reach this rock by July 4th. Reaching it any later could be disastrous. For that would mean, travelers might not reach their destinations before running out of grain or the winter storms hit.
The most recognized landmark on the Oregon trail, Independence Rock is located in Wyoming. The granite outcropping is 1,900 feet long, 700 feet wide, and 128 feet high and has been described as looking like a turtle or large whale. It’s a mile around its base.
It’s hard to imagine in this day of instant communication, the importance of these rocks. In those early days, mail was none-existent and anyone heading west had no way of communicating with family back home.
Travelers climbed the rock to engrave their names, but also to look for the names of friends or relatives who had passed before them. One of the earliest signatures to be found is that of M.K. Hugh, 1824.
Cries of Joy!
Lydia Allen Rudd reached the rock on July 5th, 1852. Though she wrote in her diary “that there are a million of names wrote on this rock,” she was somehow able to locate her husband’s name. He had passed b
y the rock three years earlier.
Unfortunately, erosion and time have erased many of the names, but the echoes of the past linger on.
If you were a traveler in the 1800s, what message would you leave for those traveling behind?
“This tale charms.” -Publishers Weekly
Margaret has published more than 46 books and is a N.Y. Times Bestselling author and two-time Romance Writers of America Rita Finalist. She writes historical novels set--where else?--in the Old West! She has written for a day time soap and is currently working on a new series. Not bad for someone who flunked 8th grade English. Just don't ask her to diagram a sentence.
I would leave the word BELIEVE or SMILE 🙂
Sabrina, that’s lovely. I have “believe” signs all over my house.
Wow what a great blog. I would leave my name, date I was there and my message would be: GOD IS GOOD!
Tonya, good choice.
I’m sure there were a lot of people on their knees around these rocks, thanking God. Not everyone made it.
I’d leave the date and name. And the words I made it ! Thank you for the info & pictures.
Carol, writing those words would have to be a thrill. I wonder how many wrote those precise words?
I would leave a message of hope and encouragement as well as my name and date. Great post!
Hi Debra, good choice. Travelers would need help and encouragement to finish the rest of the journey.
I would wish whoever visited after me a good journey
Hi Janine, good idea. Of course a “good journey” for them would be a miserable journey for us modern folks.
I think I would put hope on there.
Hi Quilt Lady, hope wins out every time!
I would say We Made It with my name and date.
Yvonne,good choice.
Had there been cell phones back then, I wonder how many people would have fallen off the rocks taking a selfie?
Der tho ye mah pas this way knw thee that I luv ye shud ye arv t r dstntd an fn me gn
I had trouble with this part: t r dstntd an fn me gn
Lol Well I was trying write as a Scottish guy might leave a message to his bride that may have been coming later
Hi Margaret,
This post really got to me. I take instant communication for granted in this day and age — talking with my folks even though they are 2,000 miles away, and my siblings who are scattered. I would leave my name and the date and if I had time, the words “Press on…”
Kathryn, we all take instant communication for granted.I still remember life b.c. (before cellphones.
The quote I was going to use was from the 20th century, so it won’t work. I must come up with something else.
Have faith, believe, and follow your heart.
Denise, I think that pretty much covers it all.
How interesting, Margaret! I knew a few had inscribed their names on different rocks, I didn’t know so many had. I’d love to read all the names and dates. I wonder who M.K. Hugh was. A mountain man? A scout? Interesting. I’d leave a message telling where to meet up at. That is if I knew my people were behind me. Loved this.
Linda, I had no idea how important these “message boards” were until I wrote a story based on one. Don’t know who M.K. Hugh was, but I bet he never imagined his name would live on.
A message telling people where to meet sounds like a good idea. 🙂
Margaret, Thank you for this interesting post! The message I would leave is “God is faithful”.
Great message, Caryl!
One of my favorite memories is the trip we took by car following the Oregon Trail as closely as we could, and these landmarks especially Independence Rock just took my breath away. We read as many names and messages as we could all around the rock. That site, Chimney Rock, Courthouse Rock, Fort Laramie, wagon ruts and all of the others will always be with me as visual reminders of what I had read so much about. Traveling across Wyoming was the most memorable part I must say. Oh, and the Wind River Reservation with Sacajawea’s grave and of course the Grand Tetons are not to be missed.
Eliza, that is so exciting. What a window back in time! Thank you for sharing.
good morning, my message would be, Dr’s are your friend.and thank god for modern medicine. I say this because my son and I read books about the old west, and think how did they survive. my son is 20 and has chronic kidney stones, he is having a procedure done today to get a stone out, if we were born in that time, I don’t think either of us would make it.
Praying for Shawn Elaine.
Elaine, that is so true. We really do have a lot to be grateful for!
Always a mystery to me how they survived crossing Nebraska. It’s open country mostly flat and you can see for miles and miles.