The Painted Rocks has remained in the same family since the late 19th century – a rare legacy of continuity and care. In the 1870s, Dunlap Edward “D. E.” Sims, a history-minded agriculturalist from Missouri, purchased land along the Concho River specifically to protect the pictographs from vandalism. By 1886, he had amassed roughly 14,000 acres.
In 1954, D. E. Sims’ granddaughter, Cora Ellen “Kay” Sims Campbell, who had taken an early interest in the site, inherited the property, which included the Painted Rocks site. Kay vowed to continue the Sims family’s legacy of protecting the site and began opening it to the public for guided tours. Due to the total absence of any graffiti after that date, she was apparently successful.
Kay married her high school sweetheart, Fred Campbell. The couple carried on the family’s stewardship for decades and expanded the site's educational offerings to include students of all ages, from elementary-school field trips to graduate-level research projects.
Kay and Fred had two children, Bill and Scott. Bill is an attorney who served as the Concho County Attorney from 1988 until 2018. Scott owned an agricultural publishing business for over 30 years, and served as a Texas state representative from 2003-2007 before passing away in 2013.
Between the late 1980s and into the early 2000s, Kay and Fred made groundbreaking discoveries – pictographs that are aligned with solstices and equinoxes – deepening public interest in the site’s ceremonial significance.
After Fred’s passing in 2017, Kay continued to welcome visitors – students, researchers, and curious travelers alike – while preserving the property with unwavering commitment.
Kay and Fred were proud grandparents to Bill’s two children, Auggie and John, and Scott’s two children, Jill and Steven. Today, the four grandchildren, along with Bill, continue Kay and Fred’s legacy of bringing awareness, preservation, and research opportunities to this special site.
Timeline
1877 – D. E. Sims (Kay Campbell’s grandfather) purchased the Painted Rocks property to protect the pictographs from vandalism.
1933 - 1934 – The Sims family welcomed A. T. Jackson of the University of Texas and Forrest and Lula Kirkland to their property. In the early 1930s, Jackson began a survey of all known rock art sites in Texas. In 1934, Forrest and Lula Kirkland began their massive project of graphically documenting Texas rock art sites, beginning at Paint Rock. They created meticulous watercolor reproductions of pictographs that remain invaluable today.
1971 – Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in recognition of the cultural and historical importance of the Painted Rocks to the nation’s heritage.
1987 – Kay and Fred Campbell, along with their sons, Scott and Bill, established Paint Rock Excursions, Inc., to offer guided tours of the site to the public.
2004 – The Texas Historical Commission honored Kay and Fred Campbell with a Historic Texas Lands Plaque in recognition of their support of archaeological research on their property.
2025 – The Campbell family established The Painted Rocks Historical Site, Inc., a nonprofit organization to protect and preserve the site, provide educational opportunities and support scholarly research.
