Topped by a three hundred and fifty foot circular, vertical cliff and peaking 12,000 feet above the Bella Forche River in the Black Hills of Wyoming, Devils Tower rose out of the surrounding plains only fifty to sixty million years ago. Magma pushed upwards through the sandstone, gypsum, and shale, creating the massive landmark seen today. The cooling of the magma created polygonal columns as the rock shrank and cracked, allowing climbers today to scale the rock with minimal climbing gear.

More than twenty Native American tribes attributed important roles to the landmark, and many today still perform ceremonies including vision quests, dances, and offerings to the spirits. The Kiwowas tell a story of the origin of Grizzly Bear Lodge, their name for this landmark, in which a group of bears attacked seven little girls who escaped onto a nearby rock. Answering their pleas for help, the rock grew and stretched into the sky. The scratching of the bears splintered the edges of the rock, resulting in the cracking. The rock carried the little girls up to the sky where they still live as the constellation known as the Pleiades.

Not until 1875 did “civilized” man take notice of the tower. Colonel Richard Dodge of the U.S. Geological Survey party called it “one of the most remarkable peaks in this or any country,” and named it Devils Tower based on a mistranslation of the native name. Theodore Roosevelt decreed it a national monument in 1906. During the Great Depression, the Civilian Conservation Corps developed the monument into the well-designed vacation spot seen today, complete with roads, footpaths, utilities, and campgrounds, as well as a museum.

Researched, written, and narrated by University of West Florida Public History Student Richard Adams.