Independence Rock History   by Tom Heald    Airs July 13, 2008      1:30 Long

This place, Independence Rock, probably had as much significance to Americans in the Rocky Mountain West as the Liberty Bell which associated with our Nation’s birth.  Why is that? 

For one thing, key figures in the exploration and development of the West often found themselves in this locale on the 4th of July.  For folks headed overland to the California gold fields, Oregon Territory or the Salt Lake valley, it was a critical marker, a sort of halfway point, on what was then the main highway across this continent.  Nearly all east-west immigrants passed close by this rock. 

For several decades, a virtual Who’s Who of characters from the opening of the west passed by and usually stopped at Independence Rock.  You can see their names, and thousands of others, chiseled into the granite here, which they did to celebrate their passing.

While many people think Independence Rock got its name from the fact travelers needed to reach it by Independence Day to avoid harsh winter weather, Thomas “Broken Hand” Fitzpatrick, one of the greatest of the Mountain Men, is actually credited with naming it and establishing it as a landmark on July 4, 1824. Fitzpatrick went on to lead trappers, explorers and emigrants on the trail past Independence Rock.

 Now you know the rest of the story. I’m Tom Heald of the University of Wyoming Cooperative Extension Service.