By Ken Burkett with excerpts from the Brookville American newspaper and Tom Brandon tour information.

Seventeen interested chapter members and other public interested individuals participated on the November 11th tour of the Scripture Rocks sites. We visited 3 locations that included the Park Site where along with the inscribed rocks we noted an old cabin foundation and a log sluice along a small run. The Second site was the Dedicated Rocks which was the area once considered for a public walking tour and lastly a carved beech tree over 10 feet in circumference that must be over 150 years old with outstanding carvings remaining. Since the tour we have become aware of another standing tree.

Douglas Monroe Stahlman was born in Kirkman, Jefferson County on August 17, 1861, the son of Gabriel and Esther (Keck) Stahlman. He graduated from the Erie Commercial School and lived in Valpraiso, Indiana, for 15 years before returning to the area. The newspapers stated that Stahlman was never married, but he mentions his wife and children in his writings often blaming his wife for his later problems. It is unknown if the couple was previously divorced. At some point he received a severe head injury requiring placement of a metal plate which is often blamed for his mental problems.

In the early 1900’s, approximately 500 rock carvings were inscribed by Douglas Stahlman who believed he had a vision instructing him to carry out such a mission. Apparently he was helped at times by two other local men one of whom is identified as J.S. Brown. The other man is unknown but we might have already found an indication of the individual from a set of initials carved at the park site during the walking tour. By the winter of 1912, Stahlman removed himself from society and lived as a hermit among the rocks surviving on the generosity of the residents of Brookville. He had a following however and is known to have conducted church services at a rocks.

Each rock carries a theme metical biblical inscription and was named by Stahlman in a day journal now in the possession of the Jefferson County History Center he cataloged each stone and its approximate location. When he completed his project, the carvings stretched roughly in an arc around Brookville from the old Northfork Park north of the town to Tunnel Hill south of Brookville. There are over 500 rocks dedicated, and with comparatively few exceptions, every one stands for some Biblical truth. For example there are rocks of Faith, Hope, Love, Obedience, Salvation, Holiness, Peace, Quietness, etc.

He also dedicated a rock and named it the "Chapel Rock." where he constructed a crude chapel and started holding regular services there. He put seats in front of the rock and 70 people once came to his service. Then he dedicated the "Altar Rock." There were five open air chapels in all. One chapel stood on Tunnel Hill, on Shawmut Railroad bridge across Little Mill Creek, and the other in McConnell's Grove. In Stahlman’s time the hills around Brookville had been clear-cut and the rocks stood out much more prominently than they do now

Eventually, Stahlman was deemed to be a hazard to himself and others and was committed to a mental institution in Pittsburgh. He died there in 1942 at the age of 81. In 1997, Jonathan Brandon, a member of the local Boy Scout Troop 64 worked with his unit to clear a trail and develop a walking tour at the dedicated rocks site in Pine Creek Township, just east of Brookville. There was initially interest to establish a passive park at the site but eventually nothing moved forward and the project has faltered over the years.

Today there remains a lot of local interest in Scripture rocks as most residents have heard the stories and many have visited at least several of the more accessible sites. There is a geocache at the Dedicated rocks site and while we were there a group from Pittsburgh was visiting the rocks on their own unguided tour.

Hopefully the Northfork Chapter will be able to assist the Jefferson County History Center in tackling the job of correctly mapping and recording these features in order to help preserve them. An interesting aspecet is that he kept a daily journal of his work and happenings which the History Center now has in its collections from which many of his works can be correlate with his own words. The final goals would be to continue to move forward the idea of a public park honoring the Stahlman story. If that can be achieved, then Stahlman’s wish, that his that rocks be used to exalt the Bible as the inspired word of God, and stand for the fulfillment of all of it that is yet unfulfilled….” may yet become a reality

Photos of the Field Trip