| It is an immense oblong of oval but irregular shape, along the southern base of which flow the river Sweetwater and along the northern base the Oregon Trail. It covers an area of over 27 acres and its highest point is 155 feet above the level of the river. The site of the rock became from the very first, a great camping place, and customs early arose of inscribing on it the names of travelers who passed it. More than 300,000 people crossed over what might be termed the eastern section before the advent of the Union Pacific Railroad in 1869, nearly all of whom stopped at the rock to rest and refresh themselves, to administer to the sick, to bury their dead, to rest their stock or to repair their equipment. It was thus, as Father DeSmet observed, "the great register of the desert." The name is of very early date, probably before 1830 or so, coming from the Ashley expeditions. The incident which gave rise to it is well known, from various references, which indicate that a party of hunters camped at the base of the rock on a Fourth of July and here celebrated the anniversary of the county's independence. Soon after the completion of the railroad, traffic was diverted and the Oregon Trail again, became a place of solitude. (WPA) The first mention I can find of this rock is by Rev. Samuel Park who visited it on the 7th of August, 1835. He, like Fremont, calls it Rock Independence. He says "This rock takes its name from the circumstance of a company of fur traders suspending their journey and here observing, in due form, the anniversary of our national freedom." I have talked with many old trappers and traders, and none of them are able to fix the date of the naming of this rock. Jim Baker tells me that Captain Bonneville named it, but of this he had no personal knowledge. The numerous names which Fremont found on the rock would indicate that it had long been known to white men. (Coutant) |
