If you hail from the Mount Rushmore State, there is a good chance that you have heard the folklore surrounding the mysterious Thoen Stone: a slab of sandstone near Spearfish etched with a description that has baffled archaeologists and historians for generations. Are you familiar with the legend surrounding the Stone? We will catch you up:

Discovered by Louis Thoen in 1887, the Thoen Stone is a slab of sandstone that was first located near Lookout Mountain and has since been a mystery that cannot be solved.

The mysterious Thoen Stone SD is displayed at the Historic Adams House in Deadwood.

Spanning 10 by 8 inches, the stone ruins in South Dakota is inscribed with the following:

"Came to these hills in 1833 seven of us

DeLacompt, Ezra Kind, G.W. Wood,

R. Kent, Wm. King,

Indian Crow.

All dead but me, Ezra Kind. Killed by [Indians] beyond the high hill. Got our gold June 1834."

On the back, it reads: "Got all the gold we could carry. Our ponys all got by the Indians. I have lost my gun and nothing to eat and Indians hunting me."

The Theon Stone replica and marker inscribed with the history of Thoen Stone is located in Spearfish, South Dakota, on Thoen Stone Road, 0.3 miles south of St. Joe Street at the top of a small hill up a short winding path.

We wonder: What makes the engraving on Theon Stone so baffling?

As per well-recorded South Dakota state history, the Gold Rush didn't even begin until the Custer Expedition of 1874 (pictured), which changes the trajectory of Mount Rushmore State history.

Like most important news stories, the legitimacy of the Thoen Stone SD has long been questioned, with many pointing to Louis Thoen — a career stonemason — as the carver.

To make the story even more bizarre, a handwriting analyst once compared the handwriting of the Thoen brothers and those named on the stone (via old postcards and journal entries) and found that the script does not match.

For more information about this story, check out this video.

What do you think? Have you observed the Theon Stone? If so, please let us know in the comments. Discover more about Theon Stone on the Historic Adams House website. While you're in the Deadwood area, check out these historic landmarks in South Dakota. And stay awhile in this cool tent with a hot tub!