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Table Rock (Ada County, Idaho) facts for kids

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Boise is located in the United States
Boise
Boise
Location in the United States
Table Rock Boise View
Boise as seen from Table Rock, 2017.
Boise is located in Idaho
Boise
Boise
Location in Idaho
TableRockWalk
Day hikers approaching the cross

Table Rock is a mountain pillar in the 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 3,650 feet (1,115 m) above sea level is 900 feet (275 m) above the city center.

Located between downtown Boise and the foothills, table rock is a rock surface with multiple caves and ledges and overlooks the treasure valley area, which makes it a safe yet adventurous location for people of all ages.

A prominent local landmark, it is a popular spot for day hiking from the Old State Penitentiary which offers access to views of the Treasure Valley, Owyhee Mountains, and the Boise Foothills themselves. 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. Please check trail conditions before planning your hike. A gate is installed on Table Rock Road to prevent vehicle access.

An illuminated sixty-foot (18 m) white cross at its summit has been the subject of a lawsuit involving the separation of church and state (the cross itself stands on four square feet (0.4 m2) 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 2,500-acre (10 km2) wildfire.

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; the site and its surroundings were also used as burial grounds. To this date, no public attributions of any archeological or cultural importance have been made to the site, despite its well-known prehistorical importance. Bafflingly, public attention continues to center on the presence of religious iconography on the butte, as opposed to preserving any knowledge of actual historical or anthropological importance.

The Cross

The cross that stands on top of Table Rock has had a volatile 60 plus year history.

The controversy began in 1956 when the Junior Chamber of Commerce, or Jaycees, built the cross on what was then Department of Correction land. At the time the Department of Correction owned a 109-acre tract that included the bluff of Table Rock.

On June 10, 1970, the Jaycees submitted a request to the Board of Correction for the purchase a 44-foot-by-70-foot parcel of land that would surround the land around the cross.

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 $100.00. The sale of the land was advertised in the The Idaho Statesman weekly for a period of six weeks. The Jaycees and a man named Paul Kimball signed up as bidders, though Kimball did not actually place a bid.

The land was sold to the Jaycees for $100.00. From then on 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.

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