Near Great Falls in Cascade County, Montana — The American West (Mountains)

Lewis's Grand Experiment

A Disappointment Disappears

Photographed by Barry Swackhamer, June 23, 2026

1. Lewis's Grand Experiment Marker

Caption: (bottom right) The actual-size replica of Lewis's boat frame was built by Paul Blystone of the Lewis & Clark Honor Guard. Help protect it - please don't lean or climb on it.

Inscription. While Clark directed the portage, Lewis supervised the laborious process of assembling a boat they had hauled in pieces from Harpers Ferry, Virginia. Although it was regarded as an "experiment" the iron frame represented cutting-edge technology when Lewis himself designed it in 1803. The canoe-shaped collapsible frame was 36 feet long and 4 1/2 feet wide, and consisted of nearly 200 pounds of iron strips that connected together with screws. When further strengthened with willow limbs and covered with animal skins, it was designed to carry 8,000 pounds.
A crew labored for weeks preparing 28 elk and four bison hides, but was unable to fine pine pitch for binding the seams. As a last resort, they substituted a "composition of charcoal and beeswax with buffalo tallow. The boat "floated like a perfect cork" at first, but then sank during its trial run. Devastated Lewis ordered it buried here, and the Corps quickly moved upstream to its Canoe Camp, where they made two large cottonwood boats as a replacement for the failed experiment and "proceeded on."
A year later, on the return trip east. Lewis noted, "Had the carriage wheels dug up found them in good order, the iron frame of the boat had not suffered materially... ." The Iron boat was never mentioned again in any of the journals. Its ulimate fate remains a mystery.

"...we discovered that a greater part of the composition had separated from the skins and left the seams of the boat exposed to the water and she leaked in such manner that she would not answer. I need not add that this circumstance mortifyed me not a little, ... had I only singed my Elk shins in stead of shaving them I believe the composition would have remained and the boat answered;"
Captain

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Meriwether Lewis, July 9, 1805

Is the Boat Still Here?
Some scholars believe it is. Archaeologist Ken Karsminzki, Executive Director of the Columbia Gorge Discovery Center and Museum, thinks that Lewis and his crew may have buried it here a second-time in 1806.

Karsminzki launched an investigation here in 1990 using magnetometers. On September 9, 2001, he returned with help from the University of Florida, the U.S. Air Force and robotic metal detectors. [photograph above] That effort discovered many "subsurface anomalies," but was cut short by the September 11 terrorist attacks. Their sophisticated equipment was urgently needed in New York to help examine residue at the World Trade Centerer. Efforts in the future will require detailed soil sifting to discover if any of the "subsurface anomalies" are indeed the rusted remains of Lewis's iron boat.

Erected by Montana State University, Bozeman; U.S. Dept. of the Interior; Montana Stock Growers Association Montana State University, Bozeman; U.S. Dept. of the Interior; Montana Stock Growers Association.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these

Photographed by Barry Swackhamer, June 23, 2026

2. Lewis's Grand Experiment Marker

topic lists: Exploration • Waterways & Vessels. In addition, it is included in the Lewis & Clark Expedition series list. A significant historical date for this entry is July 9, 1805.

Location. 47° 27.873′ N, 111° 17.627′ W. Marker is near Great Falls, Montana, in Cascade County. It can be reached from 40th Avenue South near 13th Street South, on the left when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 700 40th Avenue South, Great Falls MT 59405, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in andspecifically entral Montana in Russell Country. It is also in the American Mountain West

and in the Lewis & Clark Corridor.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Rocky Mountains,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once Rupert’s Land

and also the Louisiana Purchase.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 2 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Welcome to the Upper Portage Overlook (a few steps from this marker); The Portage Route (a few steps from this marker); Upper Portage Camp

Lewis's Grand Experiment image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Barry Swackhamer, June 23, 2026

3. Lewis's Grand Experiment

(a few steps from this marker); White Bear Islands (within shouting distance of this marker); Commissary of the Plains (approx. 2 miles away); The Falls: Obstacle or Opportunity (approx. 2 miles away); The Portage Around the Falls (approx. 2 miles away); Explorers at the Portage (approx. 2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Great Falls.

Photographed by Barry Swackhamer, June 23, 2026

4. Lewis's Grand Experiment

Credits. This page was last revised on October 18, 2026. It was originally submitted on October 18, 2026, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California. This page has been viewed 12 times since then. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on October 18, 2026, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California.