Sherry Chandler

Removal of Indian Head Rock, Portsmouth Daily Times file photo.

Lost in all the excitement of last week — and well might you ask what excitement was that, but I lead a simple life — was this news item Charlie W sent me from the Portsmouth Daily Times:

Rep. Tanya Pullin, D-South Shore, Ky., (98th District), says she considers the removal of what has come to be known as the “Indian Rock” from what she says was Kentucky property “a very serious matter.”

A group of volunteer divers recently brought the rock with carvings of dates from the 19th century, a likeness of a man and a house, as well as assorted names, up from about 16 feet down and about 30 to 40 feet from the Kentucky shore.

“I’m afraid I’m a little bit behind in it, but it was on Kentucky land, and I’m going to check into it,” Pullin said. “I will be talking with the Legislative Research Commission and the attorney general in Frankfort (Ky.)”

A little further research in the form of a Google query brought up this item from Bill Sloat’s The Daily Bellwether:

CINCINNATI (TDB) — There could be a border war in the works after an 8-ton archaeological oddity — some would say natural wonder or treasure — called the Indian Head Rock was torn from the Ohio River and taken to Portsmouth for display. The rock hasn’t been seen since it was covered by high water after the river was dammed in the 1920s. It had long been a pioneer and early American curiosity, as well as serving as a navigation marker on the river. Flat boaters and steam boaters alike used it to measure depth and distance as a natural mile marker.

Historians and geologists have debated whether it was a manmade feature, or was put in the river by Mother Nature. The question remains open.

Which in turn led to this news item from WSAZ News Ohio:

A recent river recovery of an eight ton treasure was followed by angry claims of archeological thievery.

This sandstone scratching is far from another face in the crowd. After years of planning and weeks of effort, a Portsmouth, Ohio Volunteer Recovery Team pulled the prehistoric, legendary Indian’s Head Rock off the mighty Ohio River’s bottom.

“It was tough to get straps around it,” recovery team diver Dave Vetter said.

In the 18 and early 1900’s before the days of locks and dams, the boulder would pop up every decade or so, depending on river levels the rock became a popular tourist attraction, a gilded age photo op, featured in post cards. Some of Portsmouth’s most prominent citizens scratched their names in the sandstone. Some think maybe this smiling face is an ancient Indian petroglyph, or maybe not.

“Maybe a quarrymen or an alien from Mars,” Vetter said.

And here from the Huntington West Virginia Herald-Dispatch is the story from the divers’ perspective, as told by Steven Shaffer:

PORTSMOUTH, Ohio — History, someone jokingly pointed out, takes a lot of time.

So appears to be the case with a historic preservation effort for the Indian’s Head Rock — a sandstone boulder which, until recently, rested upon the floor of the Ohio River near Portsmouth. What separated the nearly 80-ton behemoth from countless surrounding river rocks is that on the surface of this particular boulder is the image of a human face, reportedly carved centuries ago by a Native American.

This rock carving, or petroglyph to use a more scientific term, was nearly always under the water, even before navigational dams were constructed on the Ohio River. But during those dry summers of long ago, when the Indian’s Head Rock was exposed, Euro-American settlers intrigued by the ancient enigma took the opportunity to add their inscriptions to the boulder as well.

By the late 1800s, the appearance of the rock drew large crowds, and the petroglyph boulder was the subject of speculation in books, newspapers, on postcards, and was even depicted in a traveling panorama. The Indian’s Head Rock was last visible above the water in October 1920, when a steamboat damaged the dam downstream, temporarily lowering the water level. With the repair of the dam, the boulder sank beneath the water and the celebrated Indian’s Head became a mostly forgotten footnote in local history.

That was until eight years ago, when the story of the lost monument captured my imagination. While writing the script for a documentary film on prehistoric rock art, I became aware these cultural treasures were being erased at an alarming rate from the effects of acid rain, weathering and vandalism. Since that time I’ve worked to locate, document and encourage the preservation of prehistoric carvings found throughout the Ohio Valley. I suspected the Indian’s Head Rock still existed, could be found and could once again become part of Portsmouth’s rich history.

In the summer of 2000 with a group of Huntington-based divers, I began exploring the river bottom in the Portsmouth area. It took numerous dives over a three-year period, but persistence paid off, as the team located and photographed the boulder, discovering the ancient Native American image and historic inscriptions clearly visible and in excellent condition. However, recovering the 16,000 pound rock from the river would present an even greater challenge.

…

It was a wonderful project, and obviously one that wouldn’t be hurried. Raising the Indian’s Head Rock is also an example of grassroots preservation teamwork at its best. I’m happy to have been a part of it, and I’m glad Portsmouth’s future generations will be able to see and ponder the Indian’s Head as well.

To be clear, the Ohio River is within the state boundaries of Kentucky. As this Google map shows, South Shore is a sort of Kentucky-side little sister to Portsmouth. It is also home to a number of decent regional poets.

So is this an heroic preservation effort or archaeological theft?

Or, as Charlie asks, “Is ‘rock napping’ a ‘capital’ offense, or just a very ‘base’ act?”