07/08/2026
Back to sharing some interesting things from the High Hill Historical Society:
The picture below is of Graham’s Picnic Rock or as many of us locally have been told by older generations “Slave Rock” from the late 1800s. This would be the rock between east & westbound I70 at Mineola Hill, the picture is before the Interstate was built. I’ve put together some interesting info on it below:
The large sandstone outcrop along Mineola Hill is historically known as Graham’s Picnic Rock (or Graham Rock), named for early settler Dr. Robert Graham. Local tradition holds that Graham welcomed community picnics, reunions, and gatherings at the rock during the late 1800s and early 1900s. In 1816, Robert Graham purchased bottomland along the Loutre River from Daniel Morgan Boone, the son of Daniel Boone, and later acquired the property containing what is now Graham Cave in 1847. The cave remained in the Graham family until it was donated to the State of Missouri in 1964, becoming today’s Graham Cave State Park. (Missouri State Parks)
Although the rock’s historic name is Graham’s Picnic Rock, many local residents have long known it as “Slave Rock.” That name comes from an enduring oral tradition that enslaved people were bought and sold there. While historians have not found documentary evidence confirming slave auctions took place on the rock itself, records do show that the Graham family owned enslaved people and that slavery was part of the property’s history. In 2013, Missouri lawmakers proposed naming that stretch of Interstate 70 the “Graham’s Picnic Rock Highway,” but the proposal drew controversy because many felt it would overlook or diminish the site’s long-standing oral history as “Slave Rock.” The debate highlighted the importance of preserving both the documented history and the stories that have been passed down through generations. (Wikipedia)
