“The tip of the trunk fell over on a very rainy season..stop trying to change things to everyone's else liking..just because there were no elephants in presidio doesn’t mean this landmark can’t keep being called ELEPHANT ROCK.”

The rock has gone by the name “Cibolo” a lot longer than “Elephant.” The oldest documentation of this is in early-1700s Spanish military observations. Newest documentation is from 1870s US military maps.

Some locals tell us that the story about the trunk falling off is new folklore. “I’ve seen that rock since I was a child, and I don’t recall it ever had a trunk,” says Oscar Rodriguez. “I even checked an old photo from 1928 in the Marfa Museum and saw a dirt road where Highway 67 is today, but there’s no trunk on that rock.”

This project is a partnership between Big Bend Conservation Alliance and The People of La Junta for Preservation. "Cibolo Rock”—a research paper authored by Oscar S. Rodriguez, on behalf of Big Bend Conservation Alliance, with edits and additions by Nakaya Flotte, PhD, on behalf of People of La Junta for Preservation—discusses this history and is linked on the petition.