imported>Glacier109: /* Building the Cross */

2025-05-09T01:16:17Z

Building the Cross

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{{Short description|Mountain pillar near Boise, Idaho, US}}
{{Location map
|USA
|relief = 1
|label = Boise
|lat = 43.595
|long = -116.143
|caption = Location in the [[United States]]
|marksize = 5
|position =
|float =
|background =
|width = 200
}}
[[File:Table Rock Boise View.jpg|thumb|Boise as seen from Table Rock, 2017.]]
{{Location map
|USA Idaho
|relief = 1
|label = Boise
|lat = 43.595
|long = -116.143
|caption = Location in [[Idaho]]
|marksize = 5
|position =
|float =
|background=
|width = 130
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[[File:TableRockWalk.JPG|thumb|220px|Day hikers approaching the cross]]

'''Table Rock''' is a mountain pillar<ref>{{Cite web|title=Table Rock Cross|url=https://www.mountainzone.com/mountains/idaho/ada-id/pillar/table-rock-cross/|access-date=2021-02-05|website=MountainZone|language=en}}</ref> in the [[western United States|western]] [[United States]], located just south-east of downtown [[Boise, Idaho]], in the foothills of the Boise Range of the [[Rocky Mountains]].
Its summit [[elevation]] of {{convert|3650|ft|round=5}} above [[sea level]] is {{convert|900|ft|round=5}} above the city center.

Located between downtown Boise and the foothills, Table Rock has multiple caves and ledges and overlooks the [[Treasure Valley]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.outdoorproject.com/adventures/idaho/hikes/table-rock|title=Table Rock|website=Outdoor Project|language=en|access-date=2018-05-02}}</ref>

A prominent local landmark, it is a popular spot for [[day hike|day hiking]] from the [[Old Idaho State Penitentiary|Old State Penitentiary]] which offers access to views of the [[Treasure Valley]], [[Owyhee Mountains]], and the Boise Foothills themselves.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.summitpost.org/table-rock/154473|title = Table Rock : Climbing, Hiking & Mountaineering : SummitPost}}</ref> Trailhead access and parking is behind the Bishop's House in the Penitentiary Historic District. The Idaho State Historical Society manages Table Rock Mesa. Table Rock is open to foot and bike traffic from sunrise to sunset. A gate is installed on Table Rock Road to prevent vehicle access.<ref>{{citation | title=Table Rock | url=https://history.idaho.gov/table-rock/}}</ref>

An illuminated {{convert|60|ft|0|adj=on|spell=in}} white [[Christian cross|cross]]<ref>{{Cite web|last=Moore|first=Anita|date=2009-08-31|title=V for Victory!: Idaho's Gems: The Table Rock Cross|url=http://v-forvictory.blogspot.com/2009/08/idahos-gems-table-rock-cross.html|access-date=2021-02-05|website=V for Victory!}}</ref> at its summit has been the subject of a lawsuit involving the [[separation of church and state]] (the cross itself stands on {{convert|4|sqft|1|spell=in}} of land sold to the [[Jaycees]] for $100 in 1972, hence it stands on [[private property]]). The legality of the land sale to the Jaycees is disputed, as the land board meeting minutes, which discuss the sale, indicate that the sale was structured specifically to sell the land to the Jaycees for the purpose of insulating the cross from legal attack. The sale included language that allowed the Land Board to reject any offers, with the stated intent of rejecting offers other than from the Jaycees.

The Table Rock Mesa was first quarried in the 1860s with much of the sandstone around Boise coming from Table Rock, including the Old Idaho Penitentiary. It continues to be an active quarry today.

In 2016, illegal [[fireworks]] usage on Table Rock shortly after midnight on June 30 initiated a {{convert|2500|acre|km2|adj=on}} {{nowrap|[[wildfire]].<ref name="2,500 acre Table Rock Fire">{{cite web | url=http://www.idahostatesman.com/news/local/environment/fires/article87029802.html | title=Illegal fireworks spark 2,500-acre fire in East Boise Foothills | publisher=Idaho Statesman | date=2016-06-30 | access-date=2016-06-30 | author=Sewell, Cynthia}}</ref><ref name="Table Rock Fire">{{cite web | url=http://www.idahostatesman.com/news/local/community/boise/article86824722.html | title=Boise Foothills wildfire caused by fireworks | publisher=Idaho Statesman | date=2016-06-30 | access-date=2016-06-30 | author=Statesman Staff}}</ref>}}

==Prehistory==
Table Rock was sacred to the [[Northern Shoshone]], who used the high plateau, numerous caves, and nearby hot springs as a ceremonial meeting place. Artifacts have been found in the course of the construction of nearby subdivisions, including obsidian bi-face knives of varying sizes.<ref>{{cite web|title=What Lies Beneath? Native American Tribes of the Boise, Idaho Archaeological Record And a Site in the Boise Foothills|url=http://boisebasinhistory.com/Native-Americans-Page-2.php|website=BoiseBasinHistory|access-date=13 July 2016}}</ref>

In 1893, prisoners quarrying stone for the penitentiary discovered Native American remains. In addition to skeletal remains, they also unearthed beads and bracelets, adding evidence that Table Rock is a sacred Native American burial ground.<ref>{{citation| title=Indian Skeletons: A Regular Boneyard Unearthed Near the "Pen." | publisher=The Idaho Daily Statesman | date= 23 January 1893}}</ref>

==The Cross==

=== Building the Cross ===
The idea for putting the cross on Table Rock came from the TV program [[This Is Your Life (American franchise)|''This Is Your Life'']] and the Jaycees asked volunteers to build the cross. The Jaycees club's original goal in building the cross was to promote [[Christianity]] as well as taking a stand against [[Communist state|communism]] in the mid-1950s, and $880 was raised to fund the project. Dick Wilcolm, Rich Jordan, and Chet Sawyer were the three volunteers that dug the hole and placed the cross in the ground. The original cross required $60 a month to power the lights that illuminated the cross, however in 2011 the lights were changed to LED lights, cutting the price down to $20.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.boisethegreat.com/articles/tablerockoverlook.php|title=Boise the Great - Table Rock Overlook|website=www.boisethegreat.com|access-date=2018-05-02}}</ref><ref name="idahoarchitectureproject.org">{{Cite web|date=|title=Table Rock Cross {{!}} Idaho Architecture Project|url=http://idahoarchitectureproject.org/s/1736/Table-Rock-Cross|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2018-05-01|website=idahoarchitectureproject.org|language=en}}</ref>

=== Controversy ===
The cross that stands on top of Table Rock has had a volatile history over the last {{age|1956|1|1}} years.<ref name="TR_Rally">{{Cite news|date=1999-11-29|title=Idaho Christians Rally Round a Cross on a Hill|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/11/29/us/idaho-christians-rally-round-a-cross-on-a-hill.html|access-date=2021-10-01|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

The controversy began in 1956, when the [[United States Junior Chamber|Junior Chamber of Commerce]] (Jaycees) built the cross on what was then [[Idaho Department of Correction|Department of Correction]] land. At the time, the Department of Correction owned a {{convert|109|acre|adj=on}} tract that included the bluff of Table Rock.

In 1970, the Jaycees submitted a request to the Board of Correction on June 10 for the purchase a {{convert|44|by|70|ft|adj=on}} parcel of land that would surround the land around the cross.
[[File:TableRockCross3299.JPG|thumb|160px|A rear view of the cross, which is illuminated nightly by inset LEDs]]
On June 25, 1971, the Correction Board deemed the desired land surplus and turned it over to the Idaho Department of Lands. Idaho Board of Land Commissioners records reveal that because the requested land was on the very edge of Table Rock's ledge, the Board of Correction did not feel it would negatively impact the surrounding state owned land.

Sale of the land was the responsibility of the Land Board. In November 1971, an auction was held for the sale of the land with the appraised price of one hundred [[United States dollar|dollars]]. The sale of the land was advertised in the ''[[Idaho Statesman]]'', Boise's daily newspaper, weekly for six weeks. The Jaycees and a man named Paul Kimball signed up as bidders, though Kimball did not place a bid.

The land was sold to the Jaycees for $100, and the cross has been considered to be on private property.

On December 16, 1994, the [[American Civil Liberties Union]] (ACLU) penned a letter to the Land Board asserting the sale of the parcel of land was both unconstitutional and a violation of state law. The letter stated the Land Board had taken the liberty of refusing bids other than the Jaycee's. It also accused the Land Board of restricting media coverage, which they claimed had left the general public in the dark. In March 1995, Land Board members voted and rejected the ACLU's request to void the sale.

Controversy escalated in November 1999, when (self-described) atheist human rights activist Rob Sherman gave a speech at BSU claiming the Jaycees were a “bunch of criminals” and threatened action to bring the cross down. The dispute resulted in over 10,000 participating in a march from the [[Boise Union Pacific Depot|Boise Depot]] to the [[Idaho State Capitol|Statehouse]] to save the Table Rock cross.<ref name="TR_Rally" />

The final cross is 4,500 pounds, six stories tall, and contains 2,600 LED lights. The cross sits 3,629 feet above sea level.<ref name="idahoarchitectureproject.org"/>

==Gallery==
{{gallery
|title = Table Rock
|width = 200
|height = 200
|align = center

|File:OldIdahoPenParkingLot3263.JPG|alt2 = Table Rock from the parking lot of the defunct Idaho State Penitentiary, itself a tourist destination.
|Table Rock from the parking lot of the defunct Idaho State Penitentiary, itself a tourist destination.
|File: Table Rock Fire.webm|The Table Rock Fire at 5:24 a.m. on July 1, 2016 from S. Federal Way just east of the Bunting Memorial Scenic Overlook; Table Rock is burning on the left.
|File:TableRockFireAftermath.webm|The aftermath of the Table Rock Fire. This video was taken from the Bunting Memorial Scenic Overlook on S. Federal Way the day after the fire.
}}

==See also==
{{Portal|Religion|Christianity|Idaho|Mountains}}
*[[:Category:Landforms of Idaho|List of Landforms in Idaho]]

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
*{{GNIS|375393|name=Table Rock}}
*[https://history.idaho.gov/table-rock/] Table Rock, Idaho State Historical Society
*[http://www.boisethegreat.com/articles/tablerockoverlook.php Boise the Great] – Table Rock overlook
*[http://idahoarchitectureproject.org/s/1736/Table-Rock-Cross Idaho Architecture Project] – Table Rock Cross


{{coord|43.595|-116.143|format=|type:mountain_region:US-OR_source:gnis|display=t}}

[[Category:Hills of the United States]]
[[Category:Geography of Boise, Idaho]]
[[Category:Landforms of Ada County, Idaho]]
[[Category:Landforms of Idaho]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Boise, Idaho]]

Table Rock (Ada County, Idaho) - Revision history

imported>Glacier109: /* Building the Cross */