---
title: "Red Bird Petroglyphs in Clay County"
slug: "red-bird-petroglyphs-clay-county"
url: "https://kyhistorydrive.com/stories/red-bird-petroglyphs-clay-county/"
era: "Prehistoric"
county: "Clay County"
counties: ["Clay County"]
coordinates: "37.2° N, 83.8° W"
coordinates_precision: "approximate (rounded to 0.1 deg / ~11 km to protect a sensitive archaeological or cultural site)"
license: "CC BY-NC 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/)"
---

# Red Bird Petroglyphs in Clay County

> A 50-ton sandstone block cut with petroglyphs, its carved face about 5½ feet high, stood for centuries in Clay County until it fell in 1994.

## At a glance

- **Where:** Clay County
- **People:** Red Bird
- **Coordinates:** 37.2° N, 83.8° W *(Approximate area — rounded to 0.1° to protect a sensitive site)*

## The story

A 50-ton sandstone block cut with petroglyphs sat in Clay County. The inscribed face was about 5½ feet high and 20 feet long, with sharp, linear carvings that the authors of Rock Art of Kentucky called “different from any of the previously reported Kentucky petroglyphs.” Nobody has dated them: a state marker credits a legendary Cherokee chief named Red Bird, but the Kentucky Historical Society itself has said there are no reliable dates, and writers have described the marks as possibly Native, colonial, or both.

That gap is why this story carries no years. The site, 15CY51, went on the National Register in September 1989. Construction work undercut the face, and on Dec. 7, 1994, the block fell; two days later it was moved to Rawlings–Stinson Park in Clay County, where it sits roofed and fenced.

It was taken off the Register in 2003. A sign at the park claims eight Old World alphabets on the stone, a fringe claim scholars reject. The map pin is generalized.

## Kentucky today

The petroglyphs remain on public display in Clay County, roofed and fenced, where visitors can still see one of Kentucky's best-known examples of Native rock art.

## People in this story

- **[Red Bird](https://kyhistorydrive.com/people/#red-bird)** — Legendary Cherokee chief (marker)

## Sources & research notes

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Cite as: "Red Bird Petroglyphs in Clay County." Kentucky History Drive. https://kyhistorydrive.com/stories/red-bird-petroglyphs-clay-county/ Text licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0.