Monument at Pawnee Rock (Pawnee Rock, Kansas)

Item

Identifier: MS 014- series MS 014-2- item 620

Staff Only

Dates

1870-1900

Extent

From the Class: 10 Cubic Feet

Additional Description

General

Front: 80352 Pawnee Rock, a land mark on the Old Santa Fe Trail, near Great Bend, Kansas

Back: Three or four miles from the Arkansas River, in the western part of the state, stands the most notable landmark on the Old Santa Fe Trail in Kansas. It is a bold projecting red sandstone cliff--the only mass rock on the Trail east of the mountains--and is known as Pawnee Rock. In early days it was a meeting plae for the Indians and in later years the plainsmen made camp there. It's name is believed to have come from a band of Pawnee Indians who sought refuge there and were killed to the man after a three days' fight with Cheyennes, Araphoes, Commanches and a few Sioux. Through the efforts of the women of Kansas, Pawnee Rock has become a State Park and a monument has been erected on it.