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Chimney Rock gets a boost from two bits worth of marketing
BAYARD – While supporters of many Nebraska visitor destinations wish the state would do more to promote itself to the travel and tourism market, Chimney Rock enjoys one advantage over all of them.
Jingling in the pockets of many Americans is the 2006 state quarter. Heads is George Washington; tails is Nebraska’s iconic Oregon Trail landmark. The design features a pioneer family, a covered wagon and Chimney Rock in the background. It was selected from among a number of designs by Gov. Dave Heineman in 2005.
“The quarter had a great effect on the year that it came out,” said Loren Pospisil, site supervisor of the Chimney Rock Visitor Center.
It still has a residual effect on tourism, he said, because over time the quarter has helped Chimney Rock become more identified with the state by Americans who have never been here.
“It still is useful as a marketing image because it is such a great image,” Pospisil said. “The national parks service brochure that came out includes the quarter’s image on it. It reinforces the iconic image that Chimney Rock is for the state.
“That’s the type of thing they look for on the currency, is symbols of what think is important. Chimney Rock is an important symbol for Nebraska.”
A resident of nearby Bayard, Pospisil has been a history buff since he was 12. Before taking the job at Chimney Rock, he spent seven years as a visitor guide, taking visitors on Jeep tours of Fort Robinson.
Despite the quarter’s marketing impact, attendance at the site has dropped a bit in recent years, from 35,000 annually when the center first opened to about 25,000. That slipped another thousand or so this year, when gas prices were high during the peak visitor season.
“We had more homebodies (in 2008) than in recent years, and that’s a good thing as far as I’m concerned,” Pospisil said.
The rock has been a landmark for travelers for nearly two centuries. About half a million pioneers passed by it on their way west between 1812 and 1866, and it is considered the most famous landmark along the Oregon-California Trail. It rises roughly 325 feet above the valley floor, with a trademark spire of 120 feet.
Chimney Rock was designated a National Historic Site on Aug. 9, 1956, and is maintained and operated by the Nebraska State Historical Society.
Built in 1994, the center is operated by the Nebraska State Historical Society and is also known as the Ethel and Christopher J. Abbott Visitor Center. It is about 1.5 miles south of Highway 92 on Chimney Rock Road.
The center offers a close-up look at the nearby formation. Exhibits explain how the rock was formed and offer visitors an opportunity to touch a stone collected from the base of the formation. They feature diary entries from pioneer travelers, numerous sketches, a time line of the overland migration, museum pieces and a gift shop with a collection of books about the site. An auditorium offers visitors the chance to see a 15-minute film about its role in America’s history.
“The Platte River Road across Nebraska was a real important travel corridor, and it still is today,” Pospisil said. “It’s never really ended.”
The Pony Express followed much of the same route through Nebraska. Although they pass through the Panhandle about 40 miles south of Chimney Rock, the first road to cross the continent, the Lincoln Highway, follows much of the old trail route. So do the first cross-continental freeway, Interstate 80, and the first coast-to-coast railroad line.
The Oregon Trail had a number of points where pioneers joined wagon trains and it branched off toward numerous destinations, but generally it is regarded as stretching from Independence, Mo., to Oregon City, Ore. Exact routes changed during different periods. The California and Mormon trails followed much of the same path, and various gold rushes took many fortune-seekers past the rock.
“There were lots of jumping off places along the trail,” Pospisil said.
Unlike many historical sites that owe their importance to events, not much actually happened at the rock. It was mostly seen, sketched and commented upon by the pioneers.
“The historical value of Chimney Rock is not so much in the things and events that happened here but rather more importantly but as how Chimney Rock serves as a symbol of the larger trail experience,” he said.
But images of Chimney Rock are used as a branding device for other sites along the trail. For instance, a visitor site at Pilot Peak in Nevada, another prominent landmark along the Oregon Trail, mentions Chimney Rock in describing the peak’s importance in trail history.
“In their interpretive displays they’ll reference Chimney Rock,” he said. “You have these other truly great sites and they’re comparing their importance to Chimney Rock as a marker on the trail.”
Despite the boost in awareness of Chimney Rock’s significance as a result of the state quarter, Pospisil believes the state ought to do a better of telling its story, not only regarding the Oregon Trail but other places with historical significance.
“Nebraska is a great state to visit, and it’s a bargain,” he said, noting that a recent study found that the state offers the second-lowest costs in the nation for travelers in food, lodging and other travel expenses.
“We’ve got so much history here, of women and children and families – these wonderful stories that connect with people,” he said.
Although Nebraska’s spending on tourism promotio has risen in recent years, thanks to a boost from the Legislature, it generally ranks among the lowest in the nation. It still ranks in the bottom 10 among the 50 states.
“Tourism is a business, and if you’re going to compete for people’s money and time you have to advertise,” Pospisil said. “There are a lot of states that don’t have what Nebraska has, but they do a better job of selling themselves.”
– By STEVE FREDERICK
