by Bill Whitney

Created on: May 28, 2010   Last Updated: April 18, 2011

Chimney Rock was named as a National Historic Site officially on August 9, 1956, but to kids and people living in Bayard Nebraska, Chimney Rock has always been a national treasure and an important part of life in Bayard.  When we moved back to the Whitney Farm in 1944, Chimney Rock became a permanent part of my life.  The northwest corner of our property was less than a quarter mile Southeast of Chimney Rock.  Chimney Rock and the surrounding acres were the center of a lot of family and town activities.  My father narrated the Passion Play that was held there for several years and one of my favorite pictures of Chimney Rock is looking out the back window of the old sod house and stage where the passion play was staged.  Kind of like the little chapel at Jackson Wyoming that is more famous.  I have attended many class picnics, Easter Sunrise services and breakfast cookouts at the base of Chimney Rock.  You always had to be alert for rattlesnakes when warm weather came.  Chimney Rock was and still is the claim to fame for our little town.  We were all thrilled when it was picked tobe on the Nebraska Version of the State Quarters.

For people who haven't studied the history of western expansion and the Oregon Trail, Chimney Rock is located in Morrill County Nebraska about four mile south southwest of Bayard.  The area of the site covers 83 acres and is governed by the National Park service and the Nebraska state Historical Society.  The spire extends nearly 300 feet above the surrounding prairie and pasture. in the North Platte River Valley.  The top of the peak is 4226 feet above sea level.  It has served since the middle of the nineteenth century as a landmark on the Oregon, Mormon, and California Trails.  From the east it is visible for miles.  It is just south of the US 26 and Nebraska 92 intersection.

The first recorded mention of Chimney Rock was made by Joshua Pilcher in 1827.  He had traveled through the North Platte River Valley to rendevous with trappers at the Great salt Lake.

Chimney Rock was much taller in 1827 but weather and erosion have caused the peak to erode and fall off in big chunks.  The last big chunk fell off in 1990 and was caused a a severe lightning strike.  In the late1980s, my father and the Mayor of Bayard surveyed the elevation of the  top of Chimney Rock and placed a concrete marker in our pasture with the date, height and other

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>