Prayer Rock (draft version)

sketchfab

In early 1924, Richard Pettigrew launched a quest for a sacred boulder to showcase at his museum. He had heard about Medicine Rock, a large rock near Gettysburg, South Dakota, featuring intricate symbols. Determined to acquire a similar treasure, Pettigrew asked E.S. Peterson of Mobridge and J.W. Parmely of Ipswich to start searching for an equally impressive piece. Their efforts eventually led them to a three-ton boulder on a ranch near Evarts, South Dakota. The land belonged to J.J. Bentz, but Ed Klein was temporarily renting it. Pettigrew bought the boulder from Bentz and hired Klein to carefully transport it to the railroad station at Mobridge, where it would be shipped to Sioux Falls. Klein assembled a team of six skilled men to move the massive rock 17 miles into town. With two wagons and eight powerful horses, they finally managed to free the boulder from its resting place. Pettigrew proudly displayed the boulder outside his home and museum in 1925, where it remains on exhibit to this day.