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PPHA has a proven record of success.
Initially created as the Pompeys Pillar Preservation Committee to ensure that Pompeys Pillar would be owned by the public when the John and Stella Foote family found it could no longer afford the liability associated with making the Rock accessible to the public, the Association achieved its initial goal in 1991, when the BLM took ownership of the property.
Shortly thereafter, the Association began work on its second goal: National Monument status for Pompeys Pillar, which was designated a National Landmark in 1965. After years of working with the U.S. Department of the Interior and through the support of the Montana Congressional Delegation, President Clinton rewarded the Association's efforts by designating the Pillar a National Monument in January 2001.
Pompey's Pillar Historical Association (PPHA) recognizes that protecting Pompeys Pillar is the responsibility of all Americans, because it belongs to all Americans. This serene area along the banks of the Yellowstone River lends itself to a variety of educational subjects: geography, geology, biology, botany, and mathematics. It is a premier site for bird watching, with more than 200 known species recorded at the Pillar. Deer, beaver, and fox still call the Rock their home, and at some point in the near future, buffalo will again return to Pompeys Pillar
Pompeys Pillar National Monument
(1863) The first recorded observation of Captain Clark's signature on Pompeys Pillar was by James Stuart, Montana pioneer and leader of a gold prospecting party down the Yellowstone valley.
(1873) Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer's troops were camped opposite the Pillar, and while the men were refreshing themselves with a swim, the Sioux Indians fired upon them.
(1875) Grant Marsh, Captain of the steamboat Josephine, recorded in his log that he saw Clark's signature.
(1882) The Northern Pacific Railroad placed an iron grate over the signature as a means of protection. In 1954, the Foote family (former owners of the site) replaced the grate with the present brass and glass case.
(2001) Pompeys Pillar National Monument was established and placed under the management of the Secretary of the Interior through the Bureau of Land Management.
Pompeys Pillar is one of the most famous sandstone buttes in America. It bears the only remaining physical evidence of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, which appears on the trail today as it did 200 years ago. On the face of the 150-foot butte, Captain William Clark carved his name on July 25, 1806, during his return to the United States through the beautiful Yellowstone Valley.
Captain Clark named the pillar "Pompeys Tower" in honor of Sacagawea's son Jean Baptiste Charbonneau, whom he had nicknamed "Pomp." Nicholas Biddle, first editor of Lewis and Clark's journals, changed the name to "Pompeys Pillar."
Native Americans called the pillar "the place where the mountain lion lies." Some observers suggest that a sandstone formation, that is a part of the pillar, which resembles a mountain lion's head, is the reason for the name. Another theory cites live mountain lions being spotted in the area.
In November 1991, through the efforts of the Committee for the Preservation of Pompeys Pillar this natural historic landmark was purchased from private ownership.
The private owners also donated original J. K. Ralston paintings, other artwork, and a Lewis and Clark historical library to the public at the time of the acquisition.
Pompeys Pillar National Monument is open from April 30th through October 15th. The landmark is open to walk-in visitation during the off-season. BLM staff and Pompeys Pillar Historical Association volunteers provide visitor services during the operating season.
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