Walking West with Robert Campbell

Mile 1106- Cour­t­house, Jail, and Chim­ney Rocks

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Jail Rock (Left) and Cour­t­house Rock (Right)

There were three promi­nent geo­graph­i­cal land­marks that Robert Campbell’s expe­di­tion could have referred to. Chim­ney Rock, Cour­t­house Rock, and Jail Rock were all with­in 20 miles of each oth­er. Robert’s par­ty would have first seen Cour­t­house and Jail Rock, which are sit­u­at­ed next to each oth­er. Chim­ney Rock was about 20 miles fur­ther up the Plat­te. All three of these land­marks were lat­er used by pio­neers on the Ore­gon trail to ori­ent them­selves. Some were not­ed to have strayed off the trail just to get a bet­ter view of the beau­ti­ful rock for­ma­tions. Both Cour­t­house and Jail Rocks rise more that 400 feet from the North Plat­te Val­ley. Chim­ney Rock, fur­ther west was also used as a land­mark by pio­neers and has a very promi­nent peak that gives the for­ma­tion its name. This peak ris­es 300 feet above the val­ley below.

Chim­ney Rock
Cour­t­house Rock (Left) and Jail Rock (Right)
Jail Rock
cir­ca 1897