Pompeys Pillar

“Imagine being able to caste the footprints that our astronauts left on the moon. Captain Clark’s inscription on Pompeys Pillar is the only ‘footprint’ left along the Lewis and Clark Trail,” said Pompeys Pillar Historical Association President Susan Barrow of Billings. “Its historic value is immeasurable.”

On July 25, 1806, Captain William Clark arrived at what he described as “a remarkable rock” and carved his name and date on its sandstone face. Protected in various fashions over the years, it still stands among the writings and pictographs Clark noted in his historic journals.

Clark named this remarkable rock for Sacajawea’s 17-month-old son, Jean Baptiste Charbonneau, whom he called Pomp.

Located on I-94 at exit 23, 28 miles east of Billings, Pompeys Pillar stands at a crossroads where pre-horse Native American Indian tribes hunted roaming herds of bison, elk, and antelope. Sacred to American Indians for centuries, Pompeys Pillar continues to be a beacon of history along the Yellowstone River.

For more than a decade, the PPHA has worked to preserve Pompeys Pillar for future

generations. In 1991, the association was instrumental in transferring ownership of this historic site from private hands to the Bureau of Land Management. In 2001, a second goal was accomplished when Pompeys Pillar was designated as a national monument.

The Association worked with BLM to build a 5,700 square foot Clark on the Yellowstone Interpretive Center at Pompeys Pillar. The center provides visitors and school children with a greater understanding of Clark’s exploration of the Yellowstone River and of the continuing significance of Pompeys Pillar to American Indians in this region.

The facility, located along the Yellowstone River, features interactive exhibits, original paintings by J.K. Ralston, and exhibits portraying important events on Clark’s journey, plus a gift shop.

“With the opening of the center, we are able to complete what is often the missing

chapter in the Lewis and Clark story,” said Barrow. “The challenges and good fortune that helped the expedition reach the Pacific are half of the epic tale. On the return journey, Captain Meriwether Lewis retraces the journey along the Missouri and explores the Marias.

“His return story, along with Clark’s story are the other half of the epic, the half that is barely mentioned by most historians.

“Captain William Clark, with Sacajawea, of the Shoshone tribe, her little tot, Clark’s Black servant York, and half of the expedition members struck out to explore and map a new area — the Yellowstone River drainage. They had to find cottonwoods large enough to build canoes, had their herd of 50 horses stolen, built boats out of buffalo hide, saw the biggest grizzly bear on the entire journey and herds of elk and bison so vast that Clark vowed to quit writing about them because of their unbelievable numbers,” Barrow related. "Sit on a cottonwood tree like the ones Clark's party finally found for canoes and take a video trip along the Yellowstone in a reenactment of the journey."

Years of interpretive development through public meetings have resulted in the final plans. The main part of the exhibit brings the “Clark on the Yellowstone” journey to life. Other displays tell the stories of the eras prior to the expedition, an overview of

the entire journey, and of the people and developments that followed President Jefferson’s explorers.

A Clark on the Yellowstone Interpretive Walk from the parking lot to the base of the pillar, tells the highlights of the exploration of the Yellowstone River. It is accessible year round, as are the signature and the boardwalk to the top of the pillar.

Anyone is welcome to become an association member and will receive newsletters, discounts in the gift shop, and other benefits. Contact PPHA at P.O. Box 227, Worden, MT, 59088. Visit the PPHA site at www.pompeyspillar.org.

Pompeys Pillar Visitor Center, 875-2400.

On the Lewis and Clark Trail: Pompeys Pillar Staffed May-Sept.

Pompeys Pillar National Monument, managed within the BLM’s National Landscape Conservation System, is staffed May through September. The interpretive center is open during those months. The public may walk in at no charge during the off season. The interpretive walk and the signature and boardwalk to the top of the pillar are accessible year round.

Pompeys Pillar is located 28 miles east of Billings off Interstate 94 at Exit 23. During the summer season, the BLM and Pompeys Pillar Historical Association host interpretive programs that highlight the cultural and natural history of the Monument. More information on the national monument can be found at http://www.blm.gov/mt/st/en/fo/billings_field_office/pompeyspillar.html, or by contacting Jeff Kitchens at (406) 896-5235.