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Pompey's Pillar And The Last Trace Of Lewis and Clark

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Pompey's Pillar in southeastern Montana carries the inscription of Capt. William Clark, which he is said to have inscribed in July 1806. The view from the top provides some nice glimpses of the Yellowstone River. Photos by David and Kay Scott.

During their journey west and return east, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark left numerous marks recording their presence in order to validate a claim to the land for the United States. In some locations they painted the bark of trees, while in other places they made inscriptions in stone.

Capt. Clark’s journal entries indicate he left at least 13 marks along the way, including three through the Yellowstone Valley. Pompey's Pillar along the bank of the Yellowstone River in southeastern Montana is the only location where an inscription remains. In fact, it is the only remaining physical evidence of the historic journey of the Corps of Discovery.

This makes Pompey's Pillar a very special place.

During our own 2010 trip following the Oregon Trail west, and returning eastward via the Lewis and Clark Trail from the Corps’ winter quarters at Fort Clatsop in present-day Oregon, we chose to head east by way of Great Falls and Fort Benton, Montana, as we followed the Missouri River to the Yellowstone-Missouri confluence. Unlike Lewis and Clark, we couldn’t split up and cover multiple routes used by the Corps on the return to St. Louis. As a result, we were unable to visit Pompey's Pillar until a recent trip took us back to Montana.

Pompey's Pillar National Monument preserves the location where Captain Clark on July 25, 1806, inscribed his name and the date on the prominent sandstone outcrop beside the south bank of the Yellowstone River. Clark initially called the rock Pompy’s Tower, a name that was later changed to Pompey's Pillar by the editor of the Lewis and Clark journals published in 1814.

There is some thought that Clark named the rock outcropping, not for the son of Sacagawea and Charbonneau as is commonly believed, but rather for a granite column in Alexandria, Egypt, that was described as Pompey’s Pillar in an 1803 article by a Washington, D.C. newspaper. In truth, no one knows for sure.

Something we didn’t learn until our recent visit is the inscription by Clark has been deepened on two occasions, first by a stonecutter as directed by the steamboat captain, Grant Marsh, in 1875; and again in 1926 by a gravestone cutter employed by the Northern Pacific Railroad, at the encouragement of The Daughters of the American Revolution.

Although designated in 1985 as a part of the Lewis and Clark National Trail System, whose chief interpreter is the National Park Service, the monument today is managed by the Bureau of Land Management, which purchased the property in 1991 from a local family. The 150-foot high pillar and approximately 50 acres of surrounding property was designated a national monument in 2001.

The monument includes a visitor center that opened in 2006, the 200th anniversary of Clark’s visit. The visitor center offers exhibits, an excellent film, and a small gift shop. A short trail with descriptive markers leads to a series of 220 wooden stairs that provide access to the pillar’s top. Clark’s inscription is about half way up and covered with a plastic shield that was installed by the private property owners in the 1950s to protect it from the elements.

The view from the top of the outcropping is certainly worth the climb. A nice picnic area is beside the Yellowstone River. Annual visitation is approximately 30,000, according to monument manager Jeff Kitchens.

During the last weekend of July, the BLM and Pompeys Pillar Historical Association hold Clark Days commemorating Clark’s visit to the area. Activities include a reenactment of Clark’s arrival by canoe, other living history demonstrations, and talks offered by historians.

Pompeys Pillar National Monument is located in southeastern Montana, 28 miles east of Billings, a short distance off Interstate 94 (exit 23). The visitor center is open from the beginning of May through the end of September. Although the visitor center is closed, walk-ins are welcome the remainder of the year. An entrance fee of $7 per vehicle is charged. The Interagency Pass is good for free entry.

Comments

I'm glad you posted this because I don't think many people know about the National Landscape Conservation System parks administered by the Bureau of Land Management.

I visited Pompey's Pillar about a year ago and was very glad I stopped. I'd love to see more features on these sites in the future.


Thank you for this article. I have now discovered a new place I want to visit!


Visited last year with my daughters and my pomerian Stella.  Tried visiting in 2014 with my hysband we got there just after closing . He was too sick with cancer to make the long walk from gate so he could only see it from road. This was a promised return trip. Stella and I climbed to Clark's signature , Clark is a part of my genealogy family. Was proud to be able to make the trip and see this piece of history. Wish there was s way people with disabilities could also see it.


Was there in 1976 when I was 11 years old, it was an absolutely clear day without a cloud in the sky except for clouds on the horizon to the west, but what I originally thought was clouds on the horizon turned out to be the snow capped peaks of the Rocky Mountains, traveling from Pa it was our first glimpse of them and it was a sight I'll remember to my dying day, if you ever have the chance visit it do it, and if it's a clear day go all the way to the top and look at the Rocky's the same way I got to in 1976, it's breath taking. 


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