In Tar and Paint and Stone: The Inscriptions at Independence Rock and Devil's Gate

In an indispensable book for genealogists and trail buffs, Levida Hileman presents a comprehensive history of Independence Rock, plus an alphabetical listing of over 2,000 names she and other surveyors have found inscribed on the Rock in tar and paint and stone.

She took the challenge one step further by searching diaries, histories, census and cemetery records for traces of the inscribers. That biographical information plus historic photographs supplement the inscription list.

Weary travelers, on their long journey across the plains, found Independence Rock a place of rest during the trail years. It was one of a handful of natural landmarks that attracted the attention of virtually every mountain man, trapper, explorer, missionary, pioneer emigrant, and soldier who followed the Platte River South Pass trails in the early 1800s.