| California (Sacramento County), Franklin — Alexander Hamilton Willard |
| | Born, Charlestown, N.H. Aug. 24, 1778; Died Franklin, Mar. 6, 1865 Last surviving member of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. He kept a journal and gave valuable service as a gunsmith. — Map (db m10520) |
| Idaho (Nez Perce County), Lewiston — Lewis and Clark |
| | Lewis and Clark camped on the North Bank of Lewis's or Snake River October 10, 1805
Erected October 1955
by Alice Whitman Chapter D.A.R. — Map (db m23267) |
| Illinois (Alexander County), Cairo — "Proceeding On" |
| | In November, 1803, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark and their growing contingent of "Corps of Discovery" men, spent five days here teaching each other celestial navigation and surveying skills. Using a sextant, octant, artificial horizon, and reference tables, they successfully obtained the first longitude and latitude data that they would use during the Expedition. Subsequent maps of the northern and western portions of the United States, prepared using Lewis and Clark's data, began at the . . . — Map (db m19393) |
| Illinois (Alexander County), Cairo — Historical Survey Marker |
| | The beginning of the Third Principal Meridian is located in the Ohio River 1,735 feet directly north of this point. In November, 1803, this was the mouth of the Ohio River. At this location, the Lewis and Clark Corps of Discovery encamped for six days. — Map (db m19415) |
| Illinois (Alexander County), Cairo — Lewis & Clark Corps of Discovery |
| | Charting the Confluence On November 14, 1803, at the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, the Corps of Discovery stayed for six days, one of the longest stops made by the expedition. Here, they saw the Mississippi for the first time, noted the mistletoe on the large timber and to their surprise, caught a 128 pound blue catfish. Their stay allowed Captain Lewis to teach Captain Clark the use of the navigational equipment; a compass and sextant. Because the 3rd Principal Meridian . . . — Map (db m19413) |
| Illinois (Alexander County), Cairo — Lewis and Clark in Illinois |
| | On November 14, 1803, Meriwether Lewis, William Clark and their party landed at the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, the site of the present day Cairo. They spent nearly a week here, learning how to determine longitude and latitude, a skill they would need on their westward expedition. — Map (db m19419) |
| Illinois (Alexander County), Cairo — The Beginning of the Third Principal Meridian |
| | The beginning of the Third Principal Meridian is located in the Ohio River 1,810 feet directly north of this point. In November, 1803, this was the mouth of the Ohio River. At this location, the Lewis & Clark Corps of Discovery encamped for six days. — Map (db m19420) |
| Illinois (Alexander County), Cairo — York the Slave |
| | York was the first known African American to cross the American continent. In the company of Lewis and Clark Corps of Discovery, from 1803-1806, he shared equally with them the rigors of the journey, but when the corps was honored, he received no recognition. Whenever the corps came upon American Indian tribes, however, his uniqueness became apparent. To the Crow, York's blackness of skin was viewed as "big medicine," to the Shoshonis and Nez Perce, he was a man of curiousity and strength and . . . — Map (db m19485) |
| Illinois (Madison County), Alton — Lewis and Clark Expedition |
| | Near here at Camp Dubois, the Lewis and Clark Detachment spent the winter of 1803. They left on May 14, 1804, ascending the Missouri River to its source. Crossed the Great Divide reaching the Pacific on November 7, 1805. They returned to Illinois on September 23, 1806 having concluded one of the most dramatic and significant events in our history. — Map (db m2514) |
| Illinois (Madison County), Alton — The Journey Begins Here |
| | Meriwether Lewis and William Clark of the Corps of Discovery stayed at Camp River Dubois during the winter of 1803–1804, on their journey to find an all-water-route to the Pacific Ocean. For five months, the Corps stayed near the confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers, training and preparing for the long journey ahead. On May 14, 1804 the expedition traveled up the Missouri River during their journey to the Pacific Ocean.
This area has seen many changes since 1804. Imagine . . . — Map (db m2400) |
| Indiana (Harrison County), Corydon — 31.2004.1 — John Shields Lewis and Clark Expedition Member |
| | [Marker Front]:
Shields, born 1769 in Virginia, served as a private for the entire Lewis and Clark Expedition from October 19, 1803 until October 10, 1806; one of its "Nine Young Men from Kentucky," he was a skilled gunsmith and blacksmith.
[Marker Reverse]:
The Corps of Discovery explored lands of Louisiana Purchase and Pacific Northwest, 1803 - 1806. Shields settled in southern Indiana by June 1807; appointed captain in Clark County militia July 1807. Died in Harrison County in December 1809. — Map (db m9642) |
| Indiana (Knox County), Vincennes — 42.2006.1 — William Henry Harrison - & - Lewis & Clark Expedition Expedition Contact Person |
| | Side One
Harrison became Governor of Indiana Territory 1800; he administered government of District of Louisiana 1804-1805. In Vincennes, he served as a contact during the expedition; surviving records document his support and his involvement in decisions about western Indian chiefs visiting Washington.
Side Two
In 1806, on their way to the Falls of the Ohio and then Washington after the expedition, Lewis and Clark stopped in Vincennes; Lewis wrote from Vincennes on . . . — Map (db m23251) |
| Indiana (Montgomery County), Waynetown — 54-2002-1 — William Bratton Lewis and Clark Expedition Member |
| | (Obverse): Bratton (1779 - 1841) is buried in this cemetery. With U.S. Army rank of private, he joined Lewis and Clark Expedition's Corps of Discovery near Clarksville, Indiana 1803. Corps explored lands of Louisiana Purchase and Pacific Northwest.
(Reverse): Bratton's duties included hunter, blacksmith, saltmaker. He completed entire journey; discharged October 10, 1806. Settled on farm in Wayne Township 1822; held various county and township offices, including Justice of the Peace. — Map (db m3868) |
| Kentucky (Ballard County), Wickliffe — Lewis & Clark at Old Fort Jefferson |
| | Long before Lewis and Clark stopped near Wickliffe in western Kentucky on their outbound trip to the west, Fort Jefferson had been built in 1780-81 by George Rogers Clark during the Revolutionary War as an outpost against British-led Indian attacks. It was also constructed to project the claim of the infant United States to a western boundary on the Mississippi River. Decommissioned within a year, records have been located detailing the day-to-day activities of those who lived in the fort or . . . — Map (db m18548) |
| Maryland (Frederick County), Bolivar — John Collins |
| | Native of Frederick County, skilled hunter and a superintendent of provisions with the Lewis and Clark expedition, John Collins was the first Marylander to cross the North American continent. Meriwether Lewis and William Clark were charged by Thomas Jefferson to lead an expedition to find a water route to the Pacific. From 1804 to 1806 the Corps of Discovery traveled 8,000 miles as they documented their encounters with inhabitants, identified natural resources and mapped the interior of western North America. — Map (db m1904) |
| Nebraska (Douglas County), Omaha — 340 — Lewis and Clark Campsite July 27, 1804 |
| | At the camp established very near here Captain Clark wrote about the "butifull Breeze from the N W. this evening which would have been verry agreeable, had the Misquiters been tolerably Pacifick, but thy were rageing all night." Clark may have exaggerated when he noted that the mosquitoes were as big as house flies. They would continue to plague the explorers until winter. That evening Clark and Ruben Fields "walked on Shore with a View of examoning Som mounds." Although the mounds were . . . — Map (db m7886) |
| Nebraska (Washington County), Blair — 342 — Lewis and Clark Campsites August 3 and 4, 1804 |
| | On August 3 Lewis and Clark held a council with the Oto and Missouria Indians at a site they named "Council Bluff," near present Fort Calhoun, Nebraska. It was the first of many councils they would hold on their journey to the Pacific Ocean. Following the council, the explorers moved upriver, camping south of today's community of Blair. Besides describing the council, Clark's journal notes the merits of "Council Bluff" as a location for "a Trading establishment & fortification." In 1819 the . . . — Map (db m7794) |
| Nebraska (Washington County), Fort Calhoun — 341 — Lewis and Clark Campsite July 30 - August 2, 1804 |
| | On July 30 the explorers arrived at the bluff where Fort Atkinson would be built less than two decades later. Clark wrote, "The Situation of this place which we Call Council Bluff which is handsom ellevated a Spot well Calculated... for a fort to Command the Countrey and river the low bottom above high water & well Situated under the Command of the Hill for Houses to trade with the Natives." Four days later the Oto Indians, who lived in a village along the Platte River, came to the Lewis . . . — Map (db m7887) |
| Oregon (Columbia County), Deer Island — M1 — Deer Island Oregon History |
| | Deer Island in the Columbia was named by the Lewis and Clark Expedition which stopped to dine here November 5, 1805 on its way down river. Homeward bound the explorers camped on the island on March 28,1806. Captain Clark recorded "This morning we set out very early and at 9 a.m. arrived at an old Indian village on NE side of Deer Island where we found our hunters had halted and left one man with the canoes at their camp. They arrived last evening and six of them turned out very early to hunt, . . . — Map (db m7981) |
| Virginia (Albemarle County), Charlottesville — W-199 — Clarks Birthplace |
| | A mile north was born George Rogers Clark, defender of Kentucky and conqueror of the Northwest, November 19, 1752. — Map (db m17271) |
| Virginia (Albemarle County), Ivy — W-161 — Birthplace of Meriwether Lewis |
| | Half a mile north was born, 1774, Meriwether Lewis, of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, sent by Jefferson to explore the far west, 1804–1806. The expedition reached the mouth of the Columbia River, November 15, 1805. — Map (db m1795) |
| West Virginia (Brooke County), Wellsburg — Patrick Gass 1771-1870 |
| |
Sergeant on the Lewis and Clark
Expedition, he published the first
account of that exploration in 1807
Veteran of the War of 1812, he
fought in the Battle of Lundy's Lane
and at Fort Erie
Citizen of Wellsburg for more than
half a century, he married and
raised his family on Grog Run
and Pierce's Run. He is now buried
in Brooke County Cemetery.
The bust of Patrick Gass as a young man
on the Lewis and Clark Expedition was
sculpted by Agnes Vincen Talbot of . . . — Map (db m21629) |
| West Virginia (Brooke County), Wellsburg — The Lewis and Clark Connection |
| | The Corps of Discovery, under the command of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, was the first official expedition through the interior of the North American Continent sponsored by the United States.
Captain Meriwether Lewis passed Charles Town in Virginia (later renamed Wellsburg) on September 7, 1803. Lewis brought the expedition's keelboat down the Ohio River to rendezvous with William Clark near Louisville, Kentucky.
The expedition spent the winter of 1803-04 at a camp located . . . — Map (db m21639) |
| West Virginia (Jefferson County), Harpers Ferry — 5 — Armory Grounds Meriwether Lewis at Harpers Ferry |
| | The United States Armory was the main reason Lewis came to Harpers Ferry. He needed dependable weapons and supplies to succeed on his mission. The quality of the armorers' handiwork would also mean the difference between life and death for Lewis and his men. In 1803, the armory consisted of ten buildings. Their foundations are upstream and underneath the existing railroad embankment. — Map (db m20481) |
| West Virginia (Jefferson County), Harpers Ferry — 7 — Harper House Tavern Meriwether Lewis at Harpers Ferry |
| | The Harpers House was near the end of a 20-year run as the only tavern in Harpers Ferry when Lewis arrived. Thomas Jefferson may have been among the first guests to stay here in 1783. If Lewis rented a room in 1803, he was among the last travelers to seek shelter here. — Map (db m18754) |
| West Virginia (Jefferson County), Harpers Ferry — 6 — Home of Joseph Perkins Armory Superintendent Meriwether Lewis at Harpers Ferry |
| | Armory Superintendent Joseph Perkins lived in a converted warehouse on this spot from 1801-1806. The day Lewis arrived, March 16, 1803, he hand-delivered a letter from the Secretary of War directing Perkins to provide "arms & iron work... with the least possible delay." Lewis may have stayed here while he was in Harpers Ferry. — Map (db m18804) |
| West Virginia (Jefferson County), Harpers Ferry — 1 — Home of Samuel Annin Armory Paymaster Meriwether Lewis at Harpers Ferry |
| | The U.S. Armory Paymaster's house stood here. Completed in 1802 as a home for the armory's senior administrator, this building was probably the best house in town when Meriwether Lewis arrived in 1803. Lewis may have stayed here and he certainly accounted for his supplies with Paymaster Samuel Annin. — Map (db m18662) |
| West Virginia (Jefferson County), Harpers Ferry — 8 — Jefferson Rock Meriwether Lewis at Harpers Ferry |
| | Twenty years before Lewis came to town, his mentor, Thomas Jefferson, wrote about the view from this rock. Jefferson's comments on the landscape were published in Notes on the State of Virginia. That book provided a model for Lewis as he recorded his observations of the west. As Lewis gathered supplies here, did he follow in the footsteps of his mentor and take in this view? — Map (db m18791) |
| West Virginia (Jefferson County), Harpers Ferry — 3 — Large Arsenal Foundation Meriwether Lewis at Harpers Ferry |
| | Completed in 1800, the 2 1/2-story, brick arsenal building stored weapons made for the security and survival of a young United States of America. Lewis procured 15 rifles from this stockpile. They were the first and most essential weapons his soldiers needed to survive on their wilderness journey. — Map (db m18752) |
| West Virginia (Jefferson County), Harpers Ferry — Lewis and Clark |
| | Meriwether Lewis arrived March 16, 1803. Oversaw building of collapsible iron framed, skin-clad boat and acquired supplies, tomahawks, and rifles. Left for Pennsylvania on April 18; returned July 7 to gather materials and left next day for Pittsburgh. Followed Ohio to Falls; met William Clark for trip to explore and study land, waterways, animal life, natural features and resources of West. — Map (db m2149) |
| West Virginia (Jefferson County), Harpers Ferry — 2 — The Point Meriwether Lewis at Harpers Ferry |
| | Today's view of the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers passing through the water gap in the Blue Ridge Mountains has changed little from Meriwether Lewis' view in 1803. Lewis hoped to find a similar, accessible trade route on rivers passing through the Rocky Mountains. — Map (db m18801) |
| West Virginia (Ohio County), Wheeling — Lewis and Clark |
| | Meriwether Lewis arrived here on 7 September 1803 on first leg of trip to explore and study lands, natural features and resources, waterways, and animal life of West. Noted Fort Henry, procured second pirogue to transport supplies, picked up goods hauled from Pittsburgh and wrote to President Jefferson. Rested here 8 September and departed the following day down the Ohio River. — Map (db m2378) |
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