Pompey’s Pillar National Historic Landmark contains exceptional cultural, recreational and wildlife values. It represents the legacy of the early West and its development. At the Pillar, there is evidence of Native Americans, early explorers, fur trappers, the U.S. Cavalry, railroad development and early homesteaders, many of whom left their history embedded in this sandstone pillar. Captain William Clark, his guide, Sacagawea, her 18-month old son (nicknamed “Pompey”) and a crew of 11 men stopped near the 200-foot-high rock outcropping on the return leg of the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

On July 25, 1806, Clark carved his signature and the date in the rock and recorded doing so in his journal. “I marked my name and the day of the month and year,” wrote Captain William Clark in his journal on Friday, July 25, 1806. This inscription is the only surviving on-site physical remains of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Clark named this rock Pompy’s Tower. Pompy was Clark’s nickname for young Baptiste Charbonneau whose mother, Sacagawea, was the party’s interpreter. Pompy means “little chief” in the Shoshoni language. In 1814 the landmark was renamed when the journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition were published. The historic signature remains today, and visitors can walk on a boardwalk to see it.

A river landmark and rendezvous point for early travelers, Pompey’s Pillar stands 150 feet above the Yellowstone River. A stairway ascends up 220 steps to the top of the pillar for an outstanding view of the surrounding area. You can get a closer look at Clark’s signature half way up the climb. Admission is $3 per vehicle, open Memorial Day–September. Walk-in visits are allowed in the off-season.

Reprinted from www.recreation.gov and the BLM site brochure.

Historical Marker
Near Pompey's Pillar

Called lishbiia Anaache or “Place Where the Mountain Lion Dwells’ by the Apsaalooka (Crow) people, Pompey’s Pillar was a well-known landmark to the Plains Indians. It was here, at a strategic natural crossing of the Yellowstone, or Elk River as it was known to the Apsaalooka, that the Indian people met to trade and exchange information. They painted pictographs and etched petroglyphs onto the sheer cliffs of the feature. Apsaalooka legend reports that Pompey’s Pillar was once attached to the sandstone bluffs on the north side of the river. At one point, however, the rock detached itself from the cliffs and rolled across the river to it present site.

Pompey’s Pillar was also a significant landmark for Euro-American explorers, fur trappers, soldiers and emigrants. It was discovered by Canadian North West Company employee Francois Larocque in 1805. A little less than a year later, on July 25, 1806, it was visited by a 12-man detachment under the command of William Clark that included Sacajawea. and her infant son. Clark carved his name and the date on the rock and named it in honor of Sacajawea’s son. He was just one of hundreds of individuals who have left their marks on the rock for generations.

Pompey’s Pillar is now a National Historic Landmark administered by the Bureau of Land Management and is once again a meeting place for people on the northern Great Plains.