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Lewis & Clark Sites
in the Middle Mississippi River Valley
1803-1806 |
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greatriverroad.com
covers the region surrounding St. Louis and St. Louis County. Our coverage of
the Corps of Discovery Expedition begins in the south with the Ste. Genevieve,
Missouri and Randolph County, Illinois areas, and ends with coverage of historic
St. Charles, Missouri. We have chosen to highlight the sites that are included on the
Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail which begins with the Camp River Dubois
site in Hartford, Illinois, as well as the Eastern Legacy sites of Fort Kaskaskia
and the Cahokia Courthouse.
Additionally, we have included many of the sites that have been selected by the
Illinois and Missouri Lewis and Clark Bicentennial Commissions. Finally, we have
added several sites that were not recognized by any of the above official organizations
but that we feel that provide insight into the Expedition and enhance the
visitor's experience. The sites on this
page are not a full list of Lewis and Clark sites in the states of Illinois and
Missouri. Readers wishing additional information can use the list of links at
the bottom of the page to further explore their interest in sites in these
states.
Lewis and Clark Sites in
the Middle Mississippi River Valley
The following sites listed in a general chronological and a general geographical
(south to north) order.
 Fort
Defiance Park - The Confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers
Cairo, Illinois
On
November 14, 1803 Captain Meriwether Lewis noted in his journal that “this
evening landed on the point at which the Ohio and Mississippi form there junchon.”
The Corps of Discovery stayed for six days at the confluence of the Ohio and
Mississippi Rivers one of the longest stops made by the expedition. The captains
noted the mistletoe on the large timber and to their surprise, caught a 128
pound blue catfish. Their stay allowed Lewis to teach Captain William C. Clark
the use of the navigational equipment; a compass and sextant. Because the 3rd
Principal Meridian begins at the mouth of the Ohio, astronomical observations at
this point were crucial..
 Fort
Jefferson
Ballard County, Kentucky
The
journal kept by Lewis indicates that the Corps of Discovery
spent the night of November 14, 1803, at the junction of the Ohio and
Mississippi Rivers, near present day Cairo, Illinois, where they
remained until November 20. During these days the two Captains tried to
determine the best location for establishing a military fort. They also
each spent time taking astronomical readings to determine latitude and
longitude, and on November 18 they “Set out early this morning with a
canoe and eight men in company with Capt. Clark to visit and view the
ground on which Oald Fort Jefferson stood;” Fort Jefferson was
established in 1789 by George Rogers Clark, the older brother of
William, naming it for Thomas Jefferson, then governor of Virginia. The
fort was abandoned the next year.
 Bird's
Point
Mississippi County, Missouri
Lewis and Clark first set foot on Missouri soil at Bird’s Point on November 16,
1803. Here the captains encountered an American settlement and “a great many”
Shawnee and Delaware Indians. Today, a wayside offers a dramatic view from the
Missouri side of the meeting of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers. An interpretive
exhibit about Lewis and Clark is located at the Henry S. Whipple Park in nearby
Charleston.
Tywappity
Bottom Interpretive Marker
Scott County, Missouri
On November 22, 1803, Lewis and Clark noticed a cluster of American settlements
on a thickly wooded bottom known as Tywappity Bottom on the Missouri bank. Lewis
saw an 8-foot, 2-inch tall horsetail plant growing in this lush bottom. As the
expedition passed the upper end of Tywappity Bottom, where Commerce is now
located, Lewis and Clark noticed a “handsome farm.”
Cape
Girardeau
Cape Girardeau County, Missouri
On
November 23, 1803, Lewis and Clark arrived at Cape Girardeau,
a trading post established in 1795 by Louis Lorimier, the Spanish-appointed
Commandant of the Cape Girardeau District. Here, Lewis, co-commander of the
expedition, left the keelboat to pay an official visit to Commandant Lorimier.
The remaining party, under the command of Clark, who was feeling ill, continued
upstream about two miles and camped on a point of land that was the site of
Lorimier's original trading post, which was probably constructed in 1793. Lewis
would have dinner with the Lorimiers after “The Comdt. pressed me to stay to
supper which I did, the lady of the family presided, and with much
circumspection performed the honours of the table.”
Trail
of Tears State Park
Cape Girardeau County, Missouri
After the Corps of Discovery party pushed off early on the morning of November
24, 1803, and Lewis soon noticed “some high clifts the
summits of which are crowned with pitch-pine & seader, these rocks are nearly
perpendicular in many places sixty feet, and the hight of the hills apear to be
about 120 feet above the bank…” The Corps camped for the evening near today’s
Trail of Tears State Park. This park features an overlook with a spectacular
view of the Mississippi River and trails that lead through thick forests like
those that Lewis noted in his journals.
LaRue-Pine
Hills Research Natural Area
Union County, Illinois
While Lewis noted in his journal on November 24, 1803 of the high bluffs on the
Missouri side he also made the following observation about the Illinois side:
“the other appearing low and subject to be overflowed for a considirable
distance say 2 or three miles…" Visitors today can explore the wilderness that
is similar to that the Corps of Discovery experienced.
Tower
Rock, Perry County, Missouri
Grand Tower,
Jackson County, Illinois
On
November 25, 1803 Lewis and Clark “Arrived at the Grand Tower a little before
sunset, passed above it and came too on the Lard. shore for the night.” The next
day Lewis described Tower Rock made of “limestone & the same quality of the
clifts heretofore described” and that there were “strong courants thus meeting
each other form an immence and dangerous whirlpool which no boat dare approach
in that state of the water…”
Sainte
Genevieve
Ste. Genevieve County, Missouri
On November 28, 1803, Clark wrote "and after passing some verry swift water which was comfd [confined?]
between Sand bars, I arrived at the Landing opposit old St. Genevie, (or Misar.")
Situated across the river from Fort Kaskaskia, the Corps
destination to recruit additional men, was Old Ste. Genevieve, once called
Misery. Old Ste. Genevieve was relocated further inland because of
frequent flooding and many of the buildings in the Historic
District of Ste. Genevieve date
back to the time when Lewis and Clark passed by.
Fort
Kaskaskia State Historic Site
Ellis Grove, Illinois
The Corps of Discovery arrived in Kaskaskia on November 29, 1803. More than
a dozen men were recruited here including members of the U.S. Army garrisons
stationed at the fort. The Corps replenished supplies, took scientific readings,
and gathered information from the local merchants and traders. Clark left with
the men and the boats on December 3 with Lewis leaving on horseback on December
5.
Magnolia
Hollow Conservation Area
Ste. Genevieve County, Missouri
On December 4, 1803, after leaving Fort Kaskaskia, Clark noted the mouth of
Gabouri Creek. Upriver from this point he noted "the highlands juts to the
river and form a most tremendious Clift of rocks..." The Magnolia Hollow
Conservation Area, north of Ste. Genevieve, preserves these forested highlands and has an observation deck
overlooking the Mississippi River.
Fort
de Chartres State Historic Site
Prairie du Rocher, Illinois
Clark noted that the Expedition passed by the ruins of "Old fort
Charters" on December 4, 1803. Fort de Chartres, once the French
administrative center for the region and last French fort to surrender to the
British after the French and Indian War, fell victim to the ravages of the
Mississippi River. The reconstructed fort is now an Illinois State Historic
Site.
Cahokia
Courthouse
Cahokia, Illinois
Cahokia was the first French settlement in the middle Mississippi Valley,
being established in 1698 and for many years was the principal city in the
region. Lewis arrived in Cahokia in December of 1803, and made contact with the
influential residents of this town located across the river from St. Louis. Most
notable of these were Nicholas Jarrot and John Hay who acted as interpreters
when Lewis crossed the river to meet with the Spanish Governor Carlos Dehault
Delassus. Clark arrived with the men and the boats on December 10 and waited for
Lewis to return from St. Louis. When denied permission by Delassus to go up the
Missouri River, the choice was made to set up winter quarters at the mouth of
the Wood River, directly across from the mouth of the Missouri River. Cahokia acted as post office and as a source of information and supplies
during the Expedition's stay in the region. The Cahokia Courthouse is one of the
few surviving human-made structures that Lewis and Clark visited.
Cahokia
Mounds State Historic Site
Collinsville, Illinois
On a hunting expedition on January 9, 1804 Clark
came across the northwest edge of the Cahokia Mounds, at present Mitchell,
Madison County, Illinois. The mounds that Clark found have been obliterated, but
similar mounds can be found at Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site.
Museum
of Westward Expansion
St. Louis, Missouri
By the time Lewis and Clark reached the St. Louis area in 1803, the town was
beginning to eclipse Cahokia in importance. Lewis spent
most of his time during the winter of 1803-1804 in St. Louis. Although Clark
spent most of his time at Camp River Dubois, he made frequent trips to St. Louis
which served as a major source for supplies, information, and
entertainment. On March 10, 1804, the Louisiana Purchase Transfer Document,
transferring the Upper Louisiana Territory from Spain to France to the
United States, was signed at ceremonies taking place March 9 and 10, 1804, on the St. Louis riverfront. The Expedition ended its journey to
fanfare in St. Louis on September, 23, 1806. The site of colonial St. Louis is
now occupied by the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial which includes the
Gateway Arch, The Museum of Westward Expansion, and the Odyssey Theatre.
Clark's
Grave, Bellefontaine Cemetery
St. Louis, Missouri
On December 11, 1803, the Expedition camped on Cabaret Island. Just opposite
the island is a hillside location that would later become Bellefontaine
Cemetery. An obelisk marks the spot where Clark was buried after his death in 1838, having spent his entire
post-expeditionary career in St. Louis.
Camp
River DuBois State Historic Site
Hartford, Illinois
Located near the mouth of the River DuBois (Wood River) and across from the
present confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers, Camp River DuBois served as
the home base for the Corps from December 12, 1803 to May 14, 1804. It was here
that the men built a fort for the winter, trained for the rigors they were to
face, and developed into a successful military unit. Camp River Dubois, located
in Hartford, Illinois, has been
designated as Trail Site #1 on the
Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail and
includes an Interpretive Center featuring the "Cutaway Keelboat" and a
replica of the winter fort built by the Corps of Discovery. Located on the east
bank of the Mississippi River and within view of the confluence of the two
rivers is the Confluence Monument commemorating the Expedition's departure.
Camp
DuBois
Wood River, Illinois
In addition to the fort at Trail Site #1, the Wood River Heritage Council
has also constructed a replica of Lewis and Clark’s winter encampment near the
mouth of the Wood River. The Corps of Discovery of St. Charles, the group that
is retracing Lewis and Clark's route, has made Camp Dubois their living quarters
for the winter of 2003-04. Visitors can see reenactors
engaging in colonial activities durong special events.
Confluence
Point State Park
West Alton, Missouri
On May 14, 1804 Clark wrote in his journal "Set out at 4 oClock
P.M. in the presence of many of the Neighbouring inhabitents, and proceeded on
under a jentle brease up the Missourie..." as he and his men departed from Camp River Dubois and
proceeded up the Missouri River. This
1,118-acre park is located on the north side of the Missouri River at its
confluence with the Mississippi River north of St. Louis and 2 miles south
of where the confluence was in 1804. The Missouri
Department of Natural Resources intends to restore a natural floodplain reminiscent
of what Lewis and Clark might have seen along the lower Missouri River. This
will include native vegetation and natural wetlands and feature forests,
prairies, and marshes.
Historic
St. Charles
St. Charles, Missouri
When Clark and the men departed from Camp River Dubois on May 14, 1804, and
proceeded up the Missouri River, Lewis was still in St. Louis attending to last
minute business. Clark arrived in St. Charles on May 16, 1804. The men spent
their time gathering more information, supplies, and attending dances in this
friendly community of about 450 French-Canadians while awaiting for Lewis. Lewis rejoined the
Corps on May 20th and on the next day, May 21, 1804, the Expedition "Set out from St. Charles at three
oClock after getting every matter arranged, proceeded under a jentle
Breese..." Today’s visitors to the Historic District of St. Charles will
find the same hospitality as they visit the Lewis & Clark Boat House and
Nature Center or view the new statue of the explorers in Frontier Park along the
riverfront.
Fort
Belle Fontaine Park
North St. Louis County, Missouri
Fort Belle Fontaine was erected in 1805 on the site where the Corps spent
there first night after departing Camp River DuBois, four and a half miles up
the Missouri River from its confluence with the Mississippi. The Corps spent the
last night of the Expedition at this garrison on September 22, 1806, before
departing for St. Louis to end their journey the next day.
Sacagawea
Statue
Godfrey, Illinois
The Lewis and Clark Community College is the site of a statue honoring
Sacagawea, the 15-year old Shoshone Indian who joined the Corps of Discovery in
the Mandan villages of what is now North Dakota. The statue was sculpted from a
manganese, copper and bronze mixture by Glenna Goodacre who also crafted the
design of the new Sacagawea dollar.
 www.lewisandclarkillinois.org/
The official site of the Illinois Lewis and Clark Bicentennial Commission
features sites and events in Illinois, the history of the Corps in the
state, links to area tourism sites, and additional resources.
 Missouri
Lewis and Clark Bicentennial Commission
The official site of the Missouri Lewis and Clark Bicentennial Commission
features sites and events in Missouri, links, and additional resources.
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