Meyers Spring Pictograph Site is located near the town of Dryden in West Texas between two ancient Comanche War Trails. The rock art is found on a limestone cliff face adjacent to Meyers Spring, one of the only stable sources of fresh water for many miles. The oldest art found at the site consists of the prehistoric Pecos River Style (2000 to 4000 years old). Most it has faded or has been covered by early historic (150 to 400 years old) pictographs that now dominate the site. The latest pictographs found are some the best preserved in North America and appear to chronicle the earliest contact between European and the native peoples of this area.
Several native groups are known to have visited the area and include Apache, Arapahoe, Comanche, Kiowa, Kiowa Apache, Pawnee, Ute, and an earlier group we call Lower Pecos people. An United State military outpost named Fort Meyers(or Myers) was established near the spring to try and control the native peoples in the late 1800s. The fort and spring were named after one of the black Seminole soldiers who served under Lt. John L. Bullis.
Most of the interpretations of the rock art listed in the highlights are those of Reeda Peel, a rock art specialist at the Center for Big Bend Studies at Sul Ross State University in Alpine Texas. As with any artwork, a lot of what it "means" is speculation.
Unless otherwise noted, the photos were taken on September 5, 2009 by Mark D. Willis. I have added some historic photographs for reference. Those are listed at the end of the highlights.
Anyone wishing to visit the site can contact the non-profit Rock Art Foundation ( http://www.rockart.org ) about one of their twice a year tours.