Monument Rocks Bidding Tops $8.5 Million

Bids for the ranch that holds the historic Monument Rocks chalk formations have reached $8.5 million.

Bidding for the 12,900-acre Pyramid Ranch in Gove County was scheduled to end Aug. 28 but was extended for two weeks. The auction includes mineral rights.

The ranch contains the Monument Rocks, which are a National Natural Monument. It also includes fossil finds, two graves of U.S. Calvary soldiers and was territorial marker and spiritual site for Native Americans.

As bidding resumed Tuesday, the top bid was $8.5 million — more than double the top bid from a week ago.

Mark Faulkner of Ulysses, whose is overseeing the telephone auction, said six people were bidding on the land but two dropped out.