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In 1865, members of a historical society in Lancaster County recorded them with plaster casts.
At the turn of the century, historian and archaeologist Henry Mercer noted them in his journal during a trip from Doylestown to Maryland.
In the 1930s, when power companies built Safe Harbor Dam, similar rocks were cut from the river north of the dam and placed in museums.
Since then, the Safe Harbor petroglyphs have been largely ignored - left to the fish and birds and breezes - except for one man, who is fascinated with whatever message they hold.
In the 1980s, Paul Nevin, a Hellam Township man who is a teacher by education and a carpenter by trade, developed an interest in Native American cultures. He felt called to places where he could see evidence of their lifestyle, traditions and beliefs.
His wife, an anthropology major, was doing an internship at the York Historical Society. The curator was leaving, and he gave Nevin's wife his personal
It told of rocks in the river where Algonquin-speaking tribes had drawn pictures in the stone.
Nevin bought an aluminum canoe and paddled to the rocks.
When he saw them, he was hooked. He began devouring anything he could find written about the petroglyphs. He studied archaeology and began collecting bits and pieces of Native American traditions and beliefs to help him make sense of the pictures.
One year, a friend from Mexico, a Native elder there, visited. Nevin took him out to the river and showed him the petroglyphs on Big Indian Rock and Little Indian Rock. The elder told him it wouldn't be a bad idea to look at other rocks in the area and see if they held similar carvings.
Turns out, they did.
"I was pretty excited," Nevin recalled. "When I discovered there was more stuff out there, I went to the State Museum and showed them what I found." The museum put together a rock art symposium, and public interest grew.
That was in the early 1990s. Before long, paddlers and history groups began asking Nevin to show them the rocks. And so, from August to October - when the light is best - he's out on the river, pointing them out to fascinated visitors. He pours water in the indentations so they show up better, explains how and why they came to be here, speculates about what they might say.
"He gives us the ability to look at them not just as some random pictures that were left behind," said Michael Helfrich, river keeper for the Lower Susquehanna. "He gives us an idea of the meaning behind them."
Serpents line up with the sunrise at the equinox. A man-sized foot points to the mouth of the Conestoga River. Nevin doesn't know all of the significance of these things, but he knows they mean something.
"In Native cultures, Mother Earth gave them everything they needed to survive, and so for them to carve something on their mother, well, it would have to be something pretty important," he said. "These messages were meant to last for a really long time."
Because of the rocks' position just below Safe Harbor Dam, they can be difficult to access during much of the year. Dam releases, high water and weather conditions keep many would-be visitors away.
Still, over the years, some have added carvings of their own - something that Nevin and others who care about the petroglyphs have worked to stop. In 2002, he got a grant from the Pennsylvania Historic & Museum Commission to do a comprehensive identification, labeling and mapping of the rocks, designated as archaeological sites in the 1960s.
Now, it's illegal to damage them. Plans to mount surveillance video cameras on the south side of the dam will make it easier to protect the treasures. Although some paddlers stop to visit on their own, many prefer to go out with Nevin.
They're surprised to see what's there, in awe of Nevin's knowledge, anxious to hear his explanations of their meaning. And that's why he spends hours of his free time educating people about them.
"If I don't do it, it might be another generation before someone comes along who is interested in them," he said.
"Really, my goal is for people to connect more with the Earth, and learning about Native Americans is a good way to do that," he said. "There's a certain spirit and feeling out there. ... These are really something special."
Reach Jennifer Vogelsong at 771-2034 or jvogelsong@ydr.com.
PAUL NEVIN
Age: 51
Residence: Hellam Township
Family: Wife, Amy; daughters Emily, 19, and Erin, 13.
Education: Bachelor's degree in education from Penn State
Occupation: Owner, Paul A. Nevin Fine Carpentry & Restoration
Involvement: He is president of the Society for Pennsylvania Archaeology and a board member of the Eastern States Rock Art Research Association. He wrote a chapter on the Safe Harbor petroglyphs for the book “The Rock Art of Eastern North America, Capturing Images and Insight,” edited by Carol Diaz-Granados and James R. Duncan, which was published in 2004.
Hobbies/interests: Native American culture
ABOUT THE PETROGLYPHS
Where to find them: On several rocks just below Safe Harbor Dam
Who made them: Algon- quin-speaking Indians who lived in the area before the Susquehannocks.
What they mean: Those who study them still aren't sure, but they say their size, number, location and position indicate they were carved to convey a message and are more than just prehistoric graffiti.
How old they are: 800 to 1,000 years
How to protect them: Do not walk on the markings or add markings of your own.
TO GET INVOLVED
Friends of the Safe Harbor Petroglyphs is a group whose mission is to preserve, protect and raise awareness about the Native American rock art in the Susquehanna River below Safe Harbor Dam.
The organization would like to install small identifying plaques on the rocks, continue research and develop interpretive materials about the petroglyphs.
For details, visit http://members.aol.com/Susquekal/SusquehannaRiverRockArt.htm.
ON THE WEB
To see footage of Paul Nevin in action, visit http://www.ydr.com/video and search for “petroglyph.”
