Blackrock Well Historic Writing and Petroglyphs

Blackrock Well Historic Writing and Petroglyphs
Blackrock Well Historic Writing and Petroglyphs

In 2006, Dan and I hiked out to this petroglyph site we’ve wanted to check out for a while. It was a bit of a hike, but we were well rewarded.

We were very surprised to find historical inscriptions by cowboy and miner Bill Keys (of Joshua Tree fame) and others. By the 1895 date on the rock, Bill would have been just 15 years old when he carved his name on the rocks. What a fantastic find!

Bighorn sheep petroglyphs

See the Wall Street Mill for some notes on Bill Keys.

Wall Street Mill
The Wall Street Mill is Joshua Tree National Park’s most intact remaining historic gold stamp mill. Finding a stamp mill like this is rare these days. I’m thankful the NPS has preserved it. Once owned and operated by renowned prospector and rancher Bill Keys, this two-stamp mill was

No directions to this site.