Water Panther Stone Petroglyph: Tu-Endie-Wei State Park

Tu-Endie-Wei State Park in Point Pleasent, West Virginia, packs a ton of history into a small park. One which is an incredible piece of Native American Rock Art. The Water Panter Stone is on the park property. It is believed to have been a Shawnee altar stone made by the Water Panther Clan, Chief Cornstalk’s Clan. The petroglyph stone was found nearby in Leon, West Virginia, at 10-Mile Creek.

My wife was completely surprised to see the large petroglyph engraved into the boulder, which was very exciting. We’ve visited many rock art sites, but most are out west. One notable exception is the Leo Petroglyphs site in Ohio. It’s also worth a visit.

The Water Panther Stone is protected from the elements with a small wooden structure and is fenced off for general protection. The stone is large!

The engravings are faint and hard to see but still visible. Some archaeologists believe that the petroglyph represents a panther or, specifically, an “Underwater Panther.”

The tail’s spiral shape is believed to represent the whirlpools in the Kanawha River at the time. The Shawnee purportedly thought it would drag evil spirits to the bottom of the river. The different levels of steps in the stone indicate where the Shawnees placed offerings to their gods.