In 1806, Lieutenant Zebulon M. Pike traveled to Guide Rock to visit the head chief of the Pawnee Nation and persuade him to take down the Spanish flag and replace it with the "Stars and Stripes." Pike was sent on this mission by President Thomas Jefferson. He was greeted by Chief Characterish and 300 horsemen. Pike and the American party found that the village had been recently visited by a large Spanish expedition from Santa Fe.

Although Pike did not meet physical resistance, there was unrest among the warriors. He instructed twenty of his men to march across the river and dig pits from which they might defend themselves in the event of an attack. Pike set up camp with the rifle pits on the north bank of the river opposite the village. He persuaded the Pawnee to lower a Spanish flag and raise the American flag.

A short distance downstream from the village site is one of the five "sacred places" of the Pawnee. It is known as Pa-hur' to the Pawnee or "hill that points the way" and as Guide Rock to the whites, after which the town of Guide Rock was named. The rifle pits are located 3 1/2 miles west of Guide Rock.