This is a prominent rocky landmark. The rock is an isolated mass, imperfectly crescent-shaped, nearly one-third of a mile across, and its highest point is about 325 feet above the floor of the plain on which it stands. It has perpendicular cliffs 200 feet high in places. It is not surprising that it has been likened to a fort. An item in the Bend Bulletin, June 20, 1925, says that William Sullivan, an early resident, named Fort Rock. Sullivan settled in what is now Lake County in 1873. In 1938, prehistoric artifacts were discovered in a large cave in a then-unnamed butte about a mile and a half to the northwest. This butte was subsequently named Reub Long Butte to honor the well-known Lake County rancher and writer, but the artifact cave has always been and continues to be known as Fort Rock Cave. Dr. L. S. Cressman of the University of Oregon supervised extensive excavations that uncovered weapons, tools, and even sandals, and subsequent carbon dating showed some items over 9,000 years old. Phil Brogan has a full description, including pictures, in East of the Cascades, chap. 4. The community of Fort Rock was founded and named by Ray Nash. The post office was established March 9, 1908. There was considerable activity in the Fort Rock Valley during the homestead period before World War I, but in recent years little remains. For a more recent description of the community with pictures, see the Sunday Oregonian, March 13, 1994,P. Al.