Readers, Welcome to my blog (formerly Birds, Blooms, Books, etc). I'm entering a new decade taking on the challenge of moving from Maryland after living there 46 years and learning about my new home here in New England in the Live Free or Die state - New Hampshire. Join me as a write this new chapter of my life.

Monday, August 16, 2021

Mount Rushmore of the East?

 My daughter read that Pratt Rock was described in the tourist publication as Mount Rushmore of the East.  That was a bit of a stretch we thought after we visited there.

Zadock Pratt was responsible for Pratt Rock.  He commissioned the sculptor.

Pratt's tannery was supposed to be the biggest in America at the time.  Notice he also served as a Congressman and was married 5 times, twice he married sisters.  None of his descendants survived to carry on his line.

The town of Prattsville, NY is just down the road.  The kiosk gave some background but I found this description of the geology rather fascinating.

The path was up the side of the mountain to see the carvings.

Granddaughter #3 walked the whole way.

There were several switchbacks going up.

Looking up we could see the carvings above us.


Here a bench had been carved out.


Sorry, can't remember if this is supposed to be Pratt or his son who died during the Civil War after the 2nd Battle of Manassas.


Looking out across the land gave us this view.


More carvings.



Another bench.






Not sure who first painted the carvings white, but without that paint they wouldn't be very visible.


This was surprisingly a popular spot.  We were the first car in the lot when we came in the morning, but when we returned to the car there were at least 4 other cars there.  We had passed several groups climbing up after us.  I guess the tourist magazine description must have had others wondering what this was about.





7 comments:

Fun60 said...

Your granddaughter did really well climbing up and back down. I'm glad you mentioned that they had been painted white as it looked as though they had been made from plaster of paris and stuck on!

Tom said...

...a place to put on my to see list!

Anvilcloud said...

Unique and worth a visit, but probably just 1 visit, eh?

Barbara Rogers said...

Well, you're a long way from Mt. Rushmore, so this can suffice...maybe. Walking up mountain trails is a good thing.

Kay said...

Hmmm... Not quite Mt. Rushmore, but interesting none the less. Wow! And married 5 times? Gosh!

Beatrice P. Boyd said...

Undoubtedly, the white coating helped with the visibility, but somehow natural sculptures seem better to me. What did you and your group think, Marcia? Also, this does seem like a once and done as AC commented previously, so now you can cross it off your list.

Cynthia said...

Well, not exactly Mt Rushmore but a good hike destination. I think I would have liked them better without the white paint. Your granddaughter is a trooper!