Initial Rock
- On the Register
- since Nov 7, 1976
- Significant for
- Military
- Importance
- Local
- Type
- Site
- Where
- Near Medora, ND (9 mi from the town center)
About
Initial Rock, also known as Name Rock, in the Medora Ranger District of the Little Missouri National Grassland, near Medora, North Dakota, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) in 1976. It was the site of an overnight camp on May 28, 1876 of George Armstrong Custer's men, on their way to the Battle of Little Big Horn, which happened on June 25, 1876. The NRHP listing included one contributing site and one contributing object on 9.9 acres (4.0 ha).
Two soldiers, W.C. Williams and F. Neely, carved their names in a rock still present at the site. Williams and Neely, under the command of Marcus Reno, survived the battle.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Part of Medora’s story
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Sources: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places (05/22/2026) · National Archives catalog record 75326349 · Wikidata.