What Freetown’s Profile Rock Looks Like Today

Memories of Freetown's Profile Rock span my entire life.

As a kid, Profile Rock was as majestic as any tall mountain. We scaled that mountain cautiously – under Dad's supervision – slowly inching closer to the top to behold a view as magnificent as any young child might imagine.

We had reached the top of the world.

Mom remained in the car in the tree-shaded parking lot, having seen it all before and not wanting to witness her young offspring slip and splat on the jagged rocks below the giant profile of what resembled an Indian head.

As a teenager with a car, Profile Rock became a place to bring my friends and our sweethearts. We'd climb to the top, showing off just a bit, and hang for hours like kings and queens of the hill.

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After marrying a girl from Rhode Island, I introduced her to Profile Rock. We climbed to the top absorbing the wonders of autumn as a sea of fall colors – reds, oranges, and yellows – spilled out beneath and before us for miles.

As parents, we brought our children to Profile Rock, teaching them to climb slowly to the top while holding our collective breath at every step. I suspect that as young men with cars, they found their way back on their own just as I had done.

Old Man of Joshua's Mountain, or Profile Rock as it was known, came tumbling down in June 2019. Vandalism, weather, and aging may have contributed to its demise. When it fell, it took a part of my history with it.

I visited Profile Rock recently for the first time in more than 20 years to see what had become of it.

Nothing lasts forever. That's true of Profile Rock, but a lifetime full of memories lives on, at least for now.

Additional photos of what Profile Rock looks like today: