Independence Rock
Last spring, I had the good fortune to retrace the steps of the Donner Party. This post is part of the story of my journey. If you want to begin at the beginning, go here first. Big thanks to the Indiana Arts Council for helping to make this happen.
Independence Rock was another natural landmark that emigrants used as a reference point along the way. It was a place to stop and camp for a night, knowing you were on the right path.
It’s also just a really weird-looking rock. Some people say it looks like a bowl turned upside down.
What do you think it looks like?
It was called Independence Rock because usually emigrants arrived here around Independence Day. Note: the Graves family came through here two weeks later than that.
Somehow carving your name became the thing to do here.
There aren’t many names left from long ago; most of them have faded. I don’t believe you could find any of the Donner Party members’ names on the rock, though we know some of them carved their names.
Today, you aren’t supposed to carve your name. Although people do.
No, I didn’t carve that. But the husband found it when he was exploring and wanted to take a picture of it. I’m certainly not the first S. Brown to have seen the rock.
I didn’t plan on lingering here, but the husband and sons decided they must climb to the top. This meant the terrified-of-heights author had to find a place to hide while they did this.
Their view from the top:
As you can see from the top of the rock, the state historic site is now simply a really cool rest-stop. There are some informational signs and a path to the rock itself and bathrooms with a water fountain. That’s it.
I think it’s neat that it’s still serving as a place for travelers to stop and rest for a bit in the middle of their travels.
We saw lots of people coming in and out of the parking lot while we were there to use the bathrooms and such. But we were the only ones who walked down to the rock itself.
I had to touch it:
I felt really tingly here, like I had back in Lacon. Maybe because of all our stops so far, this is the place where I felt the surest I was literally standing where she had stood. I walked all around the edge of the rock and wondered which side they camped on.
There were these tiny little rabbits everywhere. I’ve never seen so many rabbits in one place. I kept almost tripping over them.
Were they there when she was there? Did Mary Ann eat rabbit stew that night?
My kids really enjoyed this stop. They talked about it for days after. They loved climbing the rock and looking out. I wondered who in the Graves family did the very same thing. Did Mary Ann? Or did she hide away down at camp for a quiet moment to herself?
That’s what I did.
Until. It was time to move on.
For the next post in this series, go here.