Prayer Rock

A general history of the "Prayer Rock."

The Search

In late 1924, Richard Pettigrew began searching for a sacred boulder to add to his museum. He had heard about a large rock with symbols on it called Medicine Rock, located near Gettysburg, South Dakota. Pettigrew wanted to acquire a similar rock with symbols on it to preserve and display in Sioux Falls. He sent a request to E.S. Peterson of Mobridge and J.W. Parmely of Ipswich to begin looking for a suitable piece.

A large boulder was found by Peterson with several large hand prints, but he estimated the boulder as weighing 15 to 20 tons. Pettigrew believed that it was too large to transport to Sioux Falls and requested that the search continue for a smaller boulder. Eventually, this three-ton example was found on a ranch near Evarts, South Dakota. The ranch belonged to J.J. Bentz, but was being rented by Ed Klein. Mr. Pettigrew purchased the boulder from Bentz and hired Klein to remove and transport it to the railroad statio