Devil’s Backbone Park

The town of Grand Tower is named for a rocky outcropping that forms an island on the Missouri side of the river.  Tower Rock was first mentioned by Marquette and Joliet when they traveled through the area in 1673. The island creates rapids and whirlpools in the river. In 1839, Penelope Pike married John Davis on top of the rock. After the wedding, their boat overturned and both of them drowned. There’s a legend that, because of the dangerous waters, the native inhabitants thought the area was possessed by evil spirits. That accounts for why several features in the area have the name “Devil.”

Tower Rock can be seen on the other side of the river (in the photo below) just in front of the barge.

There isn’t much to the town of Grand Tower. The 2000 census counted just over 600 residents. It’s 30 miles to the nearest bridge to the south and 30 miles to the nearest bridge to the north. It’s the only town on the Illinois side of the river on a 110 miles stretch between Cairo and Chester. In that same span, there are only two towns on the Missouri side.

A sign says, “Captain William Boone, the nephew of the famous Daniel Boone, is thought to have been the first white settler in Jackson County, having arrived shortly after Lewis and Clark discovered Tower Rock. William Boone’s son, Benningen, was the first white child born in Jackson County. Other early white settlers included Colonel James Gill, who resided with his family and slaves near Devil’s Bake Oven. He was a farmer and owned and operated a ferry boat, which established the area as an important Mississippi River crossing point.” This sign was put up by the state of Illinois to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, but the only mention of the two on the sign is incorrect! (They didn’t discover Tower Rock.)

During the five hours we were at the park, there was a steady parade of towboats pushing barges. The one in the above panorama was pushing a tow five barges across and six barges long. To carry the same amount of material, you’d need a train six miles long.

Speaking of trains … There’s a track running along the far bank of the river. The ugly white “bridge” carries a gas pipe across the river.

Just north of the campground, there was a 100-foot tall rock called the Devil’s Bake Oven. In the early 1800’s, it provided a handy lookout for river pirates. Their depredations got so bad that a troop of cavalry was stationed here in 1803. The rock’s impressiveness is somewhat diminished by the gas line.

An iron furnace was located here until the 1870’s. The superintendent lived in a large house on the Devil’s Bake Oven.

The ruins of the house can still be seen.

A local legend tells of the superintendent’s lovely daughter who was dallied with and abandoned by a miner. She was carried away with grief, and her ghost, or so it’s said, still wanders about the rock wailing in despair.