Pawnee Rock | |
 Monument at Pawnee Rock | |
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| Nearest city | Pawnee Rock, Kansas |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 38°16′19.57″N 98°58′53.33″W / 38.2721028°N 98.9814806°W |
| NRHP reference No. | 70000247[1] |
| Added to NRHP | December 29, 1970 |
Pawnee Rock, one of the most famous landmarks on the Santa Fe Trail, is located in Pawnee Rock State Park, just north of Pawnee Rock, Kansas, United States. Originally over 150 feet (46 m) tall, railroad construction stripped it of some 15 to 20 feet (6.1 m) in height for road bed material.[2] A memorial monument, picnic area, and pergola have been constructed on the top. From the top of the pergola is a view the Arkansas River valley and the route of the Santa Fe trail. Today it is a prominence rising 50 or 60 feet (15 or 18 m) above the surrounding plains. Matt Field, who traveled the Santa Fe Trail in 1840, later wrote, "Pawnee Rock springs like a huge wart from the carpeted green of the prairie."[2] Traders, soldiers, and emigrants who stopped, carved their names into the brown sandstone. Some of these names are still visible among the markings of the more recent visitors.[2]
Pawnee Rock was added to the National Register of Historic Places around 1970. The site is administrated by the Kansas Historical Society as the Pawnee Rock State Historic Site.
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
- ^ a b c Pankratz, Richard D. Pawnee Rock, National Register of Historic Places Inventory – Nomination Form; National Park Service; Washington D.C.; December 7, 1970 pgs 7