Historical Marker Committee Member Admires Fort Rock
A member of the Oregon Historical Markers committee, Beverly Vogt, provides this biography of the Fort Rock Marker:

Oregon is a great state to explore.  Because it seems that the main roads are getting more and more crowded, we can hardly wait to get off the beaten track and out into the more remote areas of the state. So after struggling through the traffic between Portland and Bend, it is a real treat  to abandon busy Highway 97 south of LaPine and head off via Highway 31 to some really interesting, beautiful, and relatively uncrowded country.

Since we are both geologists, whenever we travel anywhere, we carry road and geologic maps, field trip guides, and other sources of information with us.  We like to study both the present and past wherever we go.  So one day a few years ago, after we had left Highway 97 for the much quieter Highway 31, what a treat it was to us when we saw a “Historical Marker Ahead” sign, screeched to a halt at the actual sign, and learned from that sign—the Fort Rock sign—about both the geologic and human history of this very significant area. I had heard about Fort Rock before but had never actually seen it.  All of the sudden, there it was, like a dream—off in the distance beyond the sign. Fort Rock itself is interesting geologically because it is the result of an explosive eruption produced when rising magma encountered groundwater and exploded violently into a dynamic eruption that produced the round tuff ring that looks like a fort. The tuff ring was later eroded and actually breached by wave action of a large lake that was one of many lakes in this area during much wetter times after the last glaciation.  As the lakes gradually dried up, Native Americans populated this fertile area, leaving all kinds of evidence, including the famous 9,000-year-old Fort Rock Cave sandal.  Their story is still being studied today by archaeologists.  Because of this Fort Rock marker, the casual passer-by learns about Oregon’s violent volcanic past, the existence of long-gone post-glacial lakes when the climate was different than it is today, and the story of Native Americans who have lived here for thousands of years.  What an introduction to an area!!

When we first saw the sign several years ago, it was a battered, old, but well-written beaver board sign with the big wooden posts and carved-out lettering. We were so glad it was there! We learned so much from it. That old sign was replaced just this year with one of the newer style fiberglass panels that contains pictures, maps, and more information  But the result is just the same—information for the traveler who wants to know more about the country he or she is visiting.  These signs enrich all our lives.  They help preserve bits of Oregon’s past and pass that information on to present-day travelers. And those of us who love Oregon think that is an excellent idea.