Lewis & Clark's Corps of Discovery

Note: The lighting in the visitor center was dim, for some reason (few artifacts to be protected), and each exhibit was lit with spotlights, making photos very difficult.  On top of the lighting problem, I managed to blur many of my photos.  These are the ones left that are mostly legible, and you'll still need to expand them to read.  Sorry.


Lewis & Clark State Historic Site: The Point of Departure, Hartford

In 1803, the United States ended at the Mississippi River.  Pres. Thomas Jefferson foresaw a time when US lands would be "filled up" and we'd want more territory for the population to grow.  He envisioned an orderly progression of populating the land on the other side of the Mississippi a bit at a time, as needed.

Jefferson's idea of expansion

But to do that, the US had to control that land, which was now controlled mostly by France, with some distant lands (California, e.g.) belonging to Spain.  [In all the talk about ownership, no one gave a thought to any claims of the people who had lived there for centuries.]

buying French territory

When Jefferson had the chance at the Louisiana Territory, he jumped at it.  And once in US hands, his first priority was finding out just what he'd bought.

This sign explains how Lewis and Clark were appointed to go check things out.

Their marching orders were expansive: (1) follow the Missouri to its headwaters and explore any major tributaries in hopes of finding a passage to the Pacific Ocean; (2) find out what the natural world is like - document the plants and animals; (3) make contact with the Native peoples and find out what they're like.

Regarding the 1st goal, because not even fur traders knew what the rest of the continent looked like, speculation was rife.  But nations knew the Pacific Ocean existed and had been searching for many years for a way to reach it that didn't involve the long way around.

expecting natural wonders

In addition, Jefferson knew other nations were interested in those lands and wanted to be sure the US had a clear claim to them.

Turned out there was an unexpected fly in the ointment: the Spanish governor of New Orleans refused to give the US permission to explore the territory.  It was irrelevant to him that Spain had given the land to France, which had then sold it to the US.  Spain viewed the Lewis & Clark expedition as a threat that would allow the US to control the territory (he was right).  Apparently, they went anyway.

Spanish obstruction

Regarding the 2nd goal, geographers had been speculating for years about what might be found in the continental interior.  This was their chance to find out.

Lewis doing his homework

hoping for mammoths

Regarding the 3rd goal, Jefferson was a smart man and knew successful US expansion would hinge on what kind of people were already living there.

The explorers spent the best part of a year preparing for the trip.

getting ready to travel

Lewis learned about natural sciences and worked on equipping the expedition.  Clark, the military man, recruited crew members.  He focused on people with frontier skills, who were used to working with their hands, and were used to being self-reliant in the US backwoods; he rejected applicants from cities who had other people do their work.

We don't have major expeditions delayed these days
due to a technician's drinking problem

The staff at the visitor center told me there are similar visitor centers all across the western US, each explaining the events of the expedition that occurred in their local areas.  This center is at what you might call Ground Zero, the starting point.  Once they'd crossed the Mississippi, they were on their journey.

It took them more than 2 years.  We know now that they saw only one piece of the western continent, but it was a whole lot more than any non-Native had known before.

"Forces of change often occur where great rivers meet."  It's hard to imagine now what our country would be like if it weren't for the knowledge earned by their bravery and resourcefulness.