History
The rock derives its name from the fact that it lies directly along the route of the Emigrant Trail and that emigrant wagon parties bound for Oregon or California, which usually left the Missouri River in the early spring, attempted to reach the rock by July 4 (Independence Day in the United States), in order to reach their destinations before the first mountain snowfalls. John C. Frémont camped a mile below this site on August 1, 1843, and made this entry in the journal of his 1843-'44 expedition:
"Everywhere within six or eight feet of the ground, where the surface is sufficiently smooth, and in some places sixty or eighty feet above, the rock is inscribed with the names of travelers. Many a name famous in the history of this country, and some well known to science, are to be found among those of traders and travelers..."
Fremont carved a large cross into the rock monolith, which was blasted off the rock on July 4, 1847 by some among hundreds of California and Oregon emigrants who had gathered on the site. Many Protestants considered the cross Fremont carved to be a symbol of the Pope and Catholicism. John Frémont was actually a member of the Episcopal Church (United States).
Read more about this topic: Independence Rock (Wyoming)
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