MISSION STATEMENT

OF THIS WEBSITE

The purpose of this webpage on Lewis And Clark is to provide resource materials for elementary classroom teachers, and students, interested in gathering information on the "Corp of Discovery." This webpage is designed for use in elementary schools and I hope it will provide you with materials to help
your students learn more about the adventures of Lewis And Clark. However, I recommend this website for anyone wishing to learn more about Lewis And Clark. Much of the information in this website is so rare, and hard to find information, that I know you and your students will enjoy touring this site.

To explore a particular topic in more detail click your mouse on all underlined text links and enter a whole new world of the "Corp of Discovery."

THE CORP OF DISCOVERY

The "Corps of Discovery" departed from St. Louis on May 14,1804. In a span of 28 months, they covered 8,000 miles, developed friendships with the Native Americans and learned how to survive in some of America's most beautiful and treacherous territories.

This is the American Epic that takes us traveling back in time to Virginia; where Meriwether Lewis and William Clark were born.

Both had leadership qualities as they earned their ranks as Captains in the US Infantry. Lewis, as Captain in the First Infantry and Clark in the Fourth.

Their encounter, during a brief period with a rifle company, would bond them into a friendship. It was because of this friendship, Lewis called upon Clark to be his co-commander from 1804 -1806 with the "Corps of Discovery". Together they served harmoniously.

Returning from the Expedition, both Lewis and Clark served as governors. Lewis as governor of Louisiana Territory and Clark as governor of Missouri Territory plus an appointment as Superintendent of Indian Affairs in St. Louis.

Thomas Jefferson

Lewis and Clark were instructed by President Thomas Jefferson to:
A. Map a new route to the Pacific Ocean
B. Make contact with the Native Americans
C. Obtain specimens for further study
D. Keep a full record of activities during the Expedition

The Expedition
In 1803, Congress appropriated funds for the exploration of the West. Jefferson desperately looked for a leader whom he could trust to lead the expedition. When he came to his conclusion about who the leader would be, he had picked Meriwether Lewis, a good friend. Lewis also brought along his Virginian neighbor to help lead his expedition. Together they chose forty other men to accompany them. The purpose of this expedition was to find a water route to the Pacific, to develop friendship and trade with the Indians, and to map the new land. Also, they had to take note of the climate and wildlife of the West.

JEFFERSON NATIONAL EXPANSION MEMORIAL
This site contains many interesting pages of related information having to do with settling the American west, as well as information on Lewis And Clark.

Click Here For The Thomas Jefferson Papers

The complete Thomas Jefferson Papers from the Manuscript Division at the Library of Congress consists of approximately 27,000 documents. This is the largest collection of original Jefferson documents in the world.

 LINKS FOR KIDS TO LEWIS & CLARK

Click here to visit Montana History For Kids and fun things about Lewis & Clark

 

Did Your Know Brief Facts Of Their Journey?

 

Lewis And Clark Biography

 

ANIMALS DISCOVERED BY LEWIS & CLARK

 

PLANTS DISCOVERED BY LEWIS & CLARK

SURFING THE NET WITH KIDS TO DISCOVER MORE ABOUT LEWIS AND CLARK
Meriwether Lewis and William Clark's trail blazing expedition departed from St. Louis 195 years ago, on May 14, 1804. In a span of twenty-eight months, they covered 8,000 miles, journeying to the Pacific Ocean and back again. What adventures befell them? Discover for yourself.

Wanna' find things fast and use a neat search engine for kids to do it? Click here for KIDSEARCH!

MERIWETHER LEWIS
by Charles Willson Peale, c. 1807
Oil on wood panel
Courtesy of Independence National Historic Park

Meriwether Lewis (1774-1809) was born in Albemarle county, Virginia, into a distinguished family of plantation owners. Both of his parents were of Welsh descent. His father, an ardent patriot, served in the Revolutionary War. Lewis early showed an aptitude for both frontier life and intellectual pursuits, and spent most of his young adulthood serving in the army. In 1801, shortly after being elected President of the United States, Thomas Jefferson invited Lewis to serve as his personal secretary and aide-de-camp. After selecting Lewis to command what became known as the Corps of Discovery, Jefferson sent him to Philadelphia to receive training from the leading scientists of the day in zoology, botany, mineralogy, celestial navigation, and medicine. Lewis was also responsible for planning, organizing, and supplying the expedition. On the journey, he demonstrated outstanding abilities as a naturalist, ably describing flora and fauna of the country and collecting and preparing specimens. Following the expedition, Jefferson appointed Lewis Governor of the Louisiana Territory. In addition, Jefferson charged him with writing and publishing the official account of the expedition. Unfortunately, in 1809, Lewis died under somewhat enigmatic circumstances at a roadside inn while en route from St. Louis to Washington.

Meriwether Lewis commanded the first exploration by white people of the Missouri and Columbia rivers and the area between them. He also served as Governor of the Louisiana Territory. In 1801, Lewis became private secretary to President Thomas Jefferson. Both of them were interested in discovering a land route to the Pacific Ocean. The Completion of theLouisiana Purchase in 1803 made exploration urgent. In 1804, an expedition led by Lewis and William Clark started from a camp near St. Louis. By late fall the explorers had reached the Mandan Indian villages where they spent the winter. The following spring, Sacegawea, an Indian woman, accompanied the expedition up the Missouri River and across the Rocky Mountains. When the explorers reached the Columbia River, they traveled to the Pacific in canoes. On the return trip, Lewis followed the Marias River and Clark went down the Yellowstone River. They reached St. Louis in September 1806, and found they had been given up for lost In 1807, Lewis became governor of the Louisiana Territory. 1809, he started for Washington, D.C, from St. Louis. He stopped for a night at an inn in Tennessee an was found fatally wounded the next day. It has never has been determined whether he committed suicide or was murdered. Lewis was born in Albemarle County, Virginia. At age 20 he helped put down the Whiskey Rebellion. The Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition was held in Portland, Oregon, in 1905.

PORTRAIT OF MERIWETHER LEWIS WEARING A FUR SHAW GIVEN TO HIM BY THE SHOSHONE TRIBE

FROM THE DIARY OF MERIWETHER LEWIS - July 19, 1805 Friday, July 19th, 1805. Early in the morning, and soon passed the remains of several Indian camps formed of willowbrush, which seemed to have been deserted this spring. At the same time he observed that the pine trees had been stripped of their bark about the same season, which our Indian women says her countrymen do in order to obtain the sap and soft parts of the wood and bark for food. About eleven o'clock he emt a herd of elk and killed two of them; but such was the want of wood in the neighborhood that he was unable to procure enough to make a fire, and was therefore obliged to substitute the dung of the buffalo, with which he cooked his breakfast. They then resumed their course along an old Indian road. In the afternoon they reached a handsome valley, watered by a large creek, both of which extended a considerable distance into the mountain. This they crossed, and during the evening traveled over a mountainous country covered with sharp fragments of flint rock; these bruised and cut their feet very much, but were scarcely less troublesome than the prickly-pear of the open plains, which have now become so abundant that it is impossible to avoid them, and the thorns are so strong that they pierce a double sole of dressed deer-skin; the best resource against them is a sole of buffalo-hide in parchment. At night they reached the river much fatigued, having passed two mountains in the course of the day, and traveled 30 miles. Captain Clark's first employment, on lighting a fire, was to extract from his feet the briars, which he found 17 in number.

Meriwether Lewis' Grave Site

Check out these links on the mysterious death

of Meriwether Lewis

 

MERIWETHER LEWIS GRAVESITE

 

THE GHOST OF MERIWETHER LEWIS

 

A GHOST STORY ABOUT MERIWETHER LEWIS

 

MERIWETHER LEWIS MURDER OR SUICIDE?

 

THE DEATH OF MERIWETHER LEWIS

 

ENCYCLOPEDIA LINKS TO LEWIS

PLUS ARCIVE PHOTOS

 

FIND A GRAVE: WHERE EVERYBODY WHO WAS ANYBODY IS BURIED

 

A SMALL WEBSITE DEVOTED TO

MERIWETHER LEWIS

WILLIAM CLARK
by Charles Willson Peale, c. 1810
Oil on paper
Courtesy of Independence National Historic Park

William Clark (1770-1838) was born in Virginia and was the younger brother of frontiersman and military hero George Rogers Clark. An experienced soldier and outdoorsman with strong leadership and diplomatic skills, Clark was in command of an elite rifle company when he met ensign Meriwether Lewis in 1795, and was thirty-three years old when Lewis invited him to share command of the Corps of North West Discovery. On the expedition west, Clark displayed considerable talent as a negotiator, boatman, engineer, geographer, and cartographer. He spent the rest of his life in St. Louis, where he served as Governor of Missouri Territory and Superintendent of Indian Affairs. His St. Louis home contained a formal council chamber and museum housing objects presented to him by Indian people, among whom he was known as the "red-headed chief."

While traveling with the Corps of Discovery, Clark developed a high regard for Sacagawea, the Shoshoni wife of Toussaint Charbonneau, and their infant son, Jean Baptiste (whom Clark nick-named "Pompy"). Following the expedition, Clark assumed responsibility for educating Jean Baptiste, and also served as a patron and supporter of the artist George Catlin. He named his first born son "Meriwether Lewis Clark" in honor of his friend and co-commander.

William Clark Exploring The West

William Clark - A Historic Frontiersman

Excerpt From Microsoft Encarta On William Clark

 

Interesting Biography On William Clark

 

The Top 10 Most Visited Websites On William Clark

 

William Clark's Gravesite

Click here to visit William Clark's gravesite.

 Sacajawea? Sakakawea? Sacagawea?

In 1800, when she was about 12 years old, Sacagawea was kidnapped by a war party of Hidatsa Indians -- enemies of her people, the Shoshones. She was taken from her Rocky Mountain homeland, located in today’s Idaho, to the Hidatsa-Mandan villages near modern Bismarck, North Dakota. There, she was later sold as a slave to Toussaint Charbonneau, a French-Canadian fur trader who claimed Sacagawea and another Shoshone woman as his “wives.” In November 1804, the Corps of Discovery arrived at the Hidatsa-Mandan villages and soon built a fort nearby. In the American Fort Mandan on February 11, 1805, Sacagawea gave birth to her son Jean-Baptiste Charbonneau, who would soon become America’s youngest explorer.

History has accorded the Shoshoni Indian woman member of the Lewis and Clark Expedition a most novel place in the hearts and minds of generations of Americans. That her fame is deserving is evident from historical records. However, early in the twentieth century she was elevated by romanticists to a legendary status far beyond her mortal achievements, and placed at the very pinnacle of renown as America’s most famous Indian heroine.

With the recent news that Sacajawea will be featured on the new U.S. dollar coin, many are interested in the real history of this woman. Click here to visit this site. And click here for another viewpoint on the new dollar coin to be minted in honor of Sacajawea. A projected timeline for this coin is at this site.

 

Visit The Sacajawea State Park

 

Click here to visit an interesting site on Sacajawea and the debate on the correct spelling of her name. Also, click here to read a history of Sacagawea.

Click here to visit the supposed grave of Sacajawea.

 

MONTANA HISTORY ON SACAGAWEA

 BIOGRAPHICAL VIGNETTES OF EACH MEMBER OF THE

LEWIS AND CLARK EXPEDITION
The following are biographical vignettes of each of the 33 permanent party members, which you can see by clicking here. All the men were hand-picked; the two officers for their leadership abilities, and their detachment for frontier, hunting, woodcutting, specialized craftmanship, and interpreting skills. Those who distinguished themselves during the mission for their more than routine contributions, or were unique members, are treated individually. A total of 12 who made no special mark are listed collectively, with their individual activities noted in appropriate journal entries. Click here to visit this site.

 

A roster of all the people who travelled with Lewis and Clark

 

Distinguished Members of the Regiment

 In Memory Of

Sergent Charles Floyd, Jr.

SEARGENT CHARLES FLOYD, JR
Today, Floyd enjoys the honor of having had erected at his gravesite in present Sioux City, Iowa, the most prestigious memorial of the explorers. A 100 foot high sandstone masonry obelisk, second in size only to that of the Washington Monument, was dedicated in fitting ceremonies on Memorial Day 1901. Dedication speaker for the occasion was Dr. Elliott Coues, editor of the 1893 annotated reprint of the 1814 Biddle Allen edition of the journals. Coues spoke eloquently of the exploring enterprise.

JOURNALS OF LEWIS AND CLARK

THE JOURNALS OF LEWIS AND CLARK

Chapters 1 through 28 from the American Studies at The University of Virginia. This site also contains a search engine.

 

LEWIS AND CLARK JOURNAL EXCERPTS 1804-1806

 

The following journal excerpts were compiled by Florentine Films in preparation for the making of “Lewis and Clark: The Journey of the Corps of Discovery.” The excerpts – drawn from the separate, more extensive journals of Captains Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, Sergeants Charles Floyd, Patrick Gass, and John Ordway, and Private Joseph Whitehouse – were then put together in chronological order. Altogether, the entries of these seven Corps members span March 3, 1804, to September 26, 1806, totalling more than 140,000 words.
Because the journal writers did not use consistent spelling – the word “mosquito” is spelled in the journals at least 15 different ways – the journal excerpts are not searchable by keyword. However, you can search them by author, date and year. Or, if you’d simply like a good read, you can browse through them in their entirety. Click here to visit this exciting website on the Journals of Lewis And Clark.

 

THE JOURNALS OF LEWIS AND CLARK

 

THE JOURNALS OF LEWIS AND CLARK LISTED BY CHAPTER AND EVENT

 

Teacher's Guide For Lewis and Clark Journals

 

Brief Samplings Of The Lewis And Clark Journals

NEW SPECIES OF PLANTS AND ANIMALS DISCOVERED

BY LEWIS AND CLARK

 

 

 

ANIMALS DISCOVERED BY LEWIS & CLARK

 

Lewis and Clark recorded hundreds of species
previously unknown to science, including those at this website. Click here to visit.

 

Visit the Fermilab Flora and Fauna exhibit of plants and animals Lewis & Clark encountered on their journey. Click here.

 

 

The Lewis and Clark Herbarium
Lewisia rediviva
From "Curtis's
Botanical Magazine"
The Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia is home to more than 200 priceless specimens of plants collected by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark on their historic journey from 1803-1806 through what would become the western part of the United States. The dried and pressed plants housed in the Academy are virtually all that remains of the physical specimens brought back by the two explorers. These plants are historic treasures from an age in exploration and national growth that dramatically changed the United States. But they are more than museum pieces, the specimens are also scientific treasures to modern researchers studying the flora of North America. Click here to visit this website.

 

PLANTS DISCOVERED BY LEWIS & CLARK

 

THE DISCOVERY OF PLANTS BY

LEWIS AND CLARK

ANIMALS ON LEWIS AND CLARK'S TRAIL

NATIVE AMERICANS LEWIS AND CLARK DISCOVERED

THE NATIVE AMERICANS LEWIS AND CLARK DISCOVERED
While Lewis and Clark were the first Americans to see much of what would become the western United States, those same lands had long been occupied by native peoples. Over the course of the expedition, the Corps of Discovery would come into contact with nearly 50 Native American tribes. Quickly, the captains learned how many different definitions there really were for the word “Indian.” The Mandans lived in earth lodges, farmed corn and were amenable to trade with America. The Teton Sioux slept in tepees, hunted buffalo and guarded their territory fiercely against anyone who passed through, whether foreign or Indian. Some tribes had never seen a white or black man before Lewis and Clark. Others spoke bits of English and wore hats and coats they received from European sea captains.

 

The Ethnograpy of Lewis & Clark

Native American objects and the American Quest for commerce and science

 

These sites contain links, and information, about the following tribes. Click on each tribe name for a quick direct link:
Arikaras, Assiniboins, Blackfeet, Chinooks, Clatsops, Hidatsas, Mandans, Missouris, Nez Perce, Otos, Shoshones, Teton Sioux, Tillamooks, Walla Wallas, Wishrams, Yanton Sioux

 Lewis and Clark Trail
Heritage Foundation, Incorporated
The mission of the Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation is to honor the remarkable historic legacy of Lewis and Clark through research, education, preservation, promotion, and coordination. Click here for an interesting website on these topics.

ALONG THE TRAIL WITH LEWIS & CLARK

TIMELINE OF THE VOYAGE OF LEWIS & CLARK

PICTORAL TIMELINE OF THEIR VOYAGE

 

Wander The Trail of Western Adventure

 

Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail

 

The South Dakota Trail

LEWIS & CLARK'S CALENDAR FOR 1805 Lewis & Clarks Calendar for 1805 (October, November, December) Follow any of the individual 3 months below to experience Lewis & Clark's journey through Idaho, Washington, and Oregon as they made their way to the mouth of the Columbia River. October 1805 November 1805 December 1805

MAP OF THE CORP OF DISCOVERY

Here is a Map of the Corp of Discovery in Idaho and Washington, October 2nd to December 5th, 1805.

 

LEWIS & CLARK’S GENERAL ROUTE

The Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail is approximately 3,700 miles long, begins near Wood River, Illinois, and passes through portions of Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington.

 

NINETEENTH CENTURY EXPLORERS

The first of many explorers of the uncharted regions of the newly acquired Louisiana Territory were Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. They were followed by other government sponsored expeditions led by pathfinders Pike, Long, and Frémont, among others. These men established important new routes for many who followed.

President Thomas Jefferson commissioned army officers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to explore the Louisiana Territory, investigate potential resources, establish trade with the Indians and most importantly discover a passage to the Pacific Ocean through the Northwest. In 1803 President Jefferson presented Captain Lewis with a list of written instructions, saying that, "The object of your mission is to explore the Missouri River, and such principal streams of it which may offer the most direct and practicable water communication across the continent for the purposes of commerce..."

 

Detailed Color Maps
Of The Lewis And Clark Journey

This website contains maps, a living history, a forum with Ken Burns, classroom resources, and related things. Click here to check this site out!

 

FOLLOW IN THEIR FOOTSTEPS

If you've been reading about Lewis and Clark and you're eager to follow in their footsteps, here's a suggested 13-day itinerary along the route, abridged from Traveling the Lewis & Clark Trail

 

Lewis And Clark's Historic Trail

Point and Click Maps Of

Lewis And Clark Journey

Timeline Of Their Journey

IMPORTANT WEBSITES DEVOTED TO LEWIS AND CLARK

HOME PAGE OF

DISCOVERING LEWIS AND CLARK

welcome to the home page of Discovering Lewis and Clark, a prototype and workshop for a CD-ROM. This is a progressive Web site. It is enhanced by at least one new interpretive episode each month.

Its centerpiece is a 19-part overview of the expedition by Harry Fritz, Professor of History at the University of Montana, illustrated with selections from the journals of the expedition, photographs, maps, moving pictures, and sound files.

Clicking on any still image or highlighted word will lead you to another branch, or level of insight, into the significance of the Lewis and Clark expedition in Amerian history, and in contemporary life.

You can also navigate through Discovering Lewis and Clark by using the "Journal Excerpts" or the "Discovery Paths" menus. The word-search utility can be used to find references anywhere in the text.

 

Click here for Lewis & Clark on the Information Superhighway. This is a huge site with many links and subject matter is broken down into alphabetical groupings. Enjoy!

 

APPROPRIATION OF FUNDS FOR THE LEWIS AND CLARK EXPEDITION BY CONGRESS

How much money did they start with to plan their journey?

 

The History of the Lewis and Clark Expedition
West of the Divide: July 1805 to November 1805

 

WANT TO KNOW ANYTHING THERE IS ABOUT LEWIS & CLARK?

Check this out, WOW!

 

Lewis & Clark Frequently Asked Questions

 

VIRTUALLY WALK IN

THE BOOTS OF LEWIS & CLARK

Here is your opportunity to "virtually" walk in the boots of Lewis and Clark as they lead the Corps of Discovery across the nation in search of an all-water route to the Pacific Ocean.

President Jefferson has already tried three times to launch such an expedition, and now as President, he's giving it a fourth try. He selects his personal secretary, Meriwether Lewis, to lead the journey, and the two begin making plans...

Now's the time for you to enter the picture! Follow through the story below, and see if you would have made the same decisions that Lewis and Clark did 200 years ago. Click here to visit this website.

 

The Lewis & Clark Center

 

Bargains Galore at Lewis & Clark's Yard Sale

 

Lewis And Clark Introduction from the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Tehnology, Harvard University

 

Lewis And Clark Introduction from the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Tehnology, Harvard University

 

Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology,

Harvard University

 

On-Line Images Of The Voyage Of Discovery

Art/Artifacts/Manuscripts/Maps/Photographs/Sacagawea/Sites

 

The National Lewis & Clark
Bicentennial Council

Created to commemorate the journey and legacies
of the Lewis and Clark Expedition
2003 - 2006
Click here and join us!

 

National Lewis and Clark Bicentennial Council News
Lewis and Clark Bicentennial Journal
Published by the
National Lewis and Clark Bicentennial Council
1101 Officers Row, US Grant House
Vancouver, Washington 98661

National Coordinating Conference Heads for Washington State

Fourth Annual National Coordinating Conference
April 21 - 24, 1999 Vancouver, Washington

 

American Treasures of the Library of Congress: Reason
The Lewis and Clark Expedition
In June 1803, President Thomas Jefferson wrote to Meriwether Lewis (1774-1809), his private secretary and a U.S. army captain, instructing the expedition to explore the Missouri basin by crossing over the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean. Among the Library's significant collection of manuscripts and published maps documenting the expedition of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark (1770-1838) to the Pacific Northwest between 1800 and 1803 are published maps issued with the final reports of the expedition, interim composite maps showing the progress of the expedition, and maps used or consulted in planning the expedition. Also there are links to press copy in the hand of Thomas Jefferson from 1803.Click here to visit this site.

 

The Manuscript Division's holdings, more than fifty million items in eleven thousand separate collections, include some of the greatest manuscript treasures of American history and culture and support scholarly research in many aspects of political, cultural, and scientific history. Click here to visit the Library of Congress Manuscript Reading Room Manuscript Divison.

 

Congressional Investigation

Of The Lewis And Clark Journey

AMERICAN RIVERS

EXPLORED BY LEWIS AND CLARK

 

In May of 1804 the Lewis & Clark expedition set out in a 55' keel boat along with two pirogues on their now famous expedition of discovery. Keel boats of this era were pushed, pulled, rowed, and sailed up the Missouri river. The red pirogue and the white pirogue were a form of longboat which closely resembled other small river craft plying the Missouri and Mississippi rivers in the early 1800's. Click here to visit an interesting site on keel boats.

 

THE SCENIC WHITE CLIFS ON THE MISSOURI RIVER THAT LEWIS AND CLARK DISCOVERED
 

The River of Lewis and Clark
Lewis and Clark, Pioneering Naturalists

Far more than explorers, Lewis and Clark were also pioneering naturalists who recorded scores of plants, insects, fish, birds and furbearers previously unknown to science, including grizzly bears, interior least terns, prairie dogs and cutthroat trout.

 

Lewis and Clark recorded hundreds of species
previously unknown to science.

Celebrating 26 years of bringing rivers to life,
American Rivers is North America's leading national
river-conservation organization. Our mission is to
protect and restore America's river systems and
to foster a river stewardship ethic.

 

Rivers Of Lewis and Clark

 

The Original River Prior To Dams

 

GREAT FALLS

One of the most extraordinary chapters of the Lewis and Clark Expedition was the legendary portage around the "great falls." The mighty blue Missouri River now serves as the perfect guide for those who want to view firsthand the glorious sights that Lewis encountered in June of 1805. Many of the historic points have been preserved and now stand as important monuments to the Corps of Discovery.

 

CHANGES ON THE MISSOURI RIVER SINCE THE TIME OF LEWIS AND CLARK

Great Falls Chamber Of Commerce

Missouri River: A Voyage To Recovery

Of all the projects planned for the upcoming Lewis and Clark Bicentennial, none may be as significant as "Voyage of Recovery," an American Rivers-sponsored campaign to restore at least some stretches of the Missouri River to the state they were in when the Corps of Discovery made its way west in 1804-1805. Click here to visit this site.

FORT CLATSOP

It was on a wet Christmas Eve day in 1805 that the explorers of the Lewis & Clark Expedition moved into a stockade fort surrounded by lush old-growth forest, wetlands, and wildlife. Named in honor of the local Clatsop Indians, the fort was home for the 33-member party for the winter of 1805-1806.

The original fort deteriorated in the wet climate, but in 1955, using Clark's sketches, area citizens and service clubs constructed a replica on the same site. Three years later it became a unit of the National Park Service.

Today, park rangers dress in buckskin, make candles, smoke meat, carve dugout canoes, and fire flintlock rifles and muskets to reenact what life might have been like for the explorers.

 

Welcome to the Fort Clatsop National Memorial!
This site celebrates the 1805-06 winter encampment of the 33-member Lewis and Clark Expedition. A 1955 community-built replica of the explorers' 50'x50' Fort Clatsop is the focus of this 125-acre park. The fort, historic canoe landing, and spring are nestled in the coastal forests and wetlands of the Coast Range as it merges with the Columbia River Estuary. The Salt Works unit commemorates the expedition's salt-making activities. Salt obtained from seawater was essential to the explorers' winter at Fort Clatsop and their journey back to the United States in 1806.

 

Lewis and Clark at Fort Clatsop

 

General Management Plan
Development Concept Plans
Final Environmental Impact Statement
June 1995
for Fort Clatsop National Memorial

 

Fort Clatsop National Memorial
Enabling Legislation

 

Historical archaeologists from the Museum of the Rockies (Montana State University, Bozeman, MT), under the leadership of Ken Karsmizki (Associate Curator of Historical Archaeology), in conjunction with and funded by the National Park Service, have continued their excavations at Fort Clatsop, near Astoria, Oregon. Historical archaeologists combine digging with research using documents such as period maps, journals, deeds and photographs. These archaeologists are attempting to locate the site of the original fort as well as trying to find artifacts that can be confirmed as being attributed to occupation of the site by members of the Corps of Discovery during the winter of 1805-1806. A replica fort was built in 1955 but likely does not lie on the exact site of the original fort. Although the journals of Lewis and Clark describe the overall size of the fort (50 feet square) and the layout of the rooms, the orientation of the walls with respect to the cardinal directions and the actual site remain a mystery.

 

FORT CLATSOP NATIONAL MEMORIAL
Planning Your Trip

 

Lewis & Clark Sites : Fort Clatsop Site Map

 

FORT CLATSOP NATIONAL MEMORIAL
PROGRAM CALENDAR

 

A Class Visit To Fort Clatsop

 

Visiting Fort Clatsop At Christmas Past

Festivities at the national memorial will recall Lewis and Clark's winter there.

BOOKS ABOUT THE EXPEDITION

Books On Lewis & Clark

 

More Books On Lewis And Clark

Fort Clatsop National Memorial Bibliography

 

Videos On Lewis And Clark

 

Check Out Barnes & Noble For Books on Lewis & Clark

TEACHER GUIDES AND IDEAS

Fort Clatsop National Memorial offers a variety of resources for teachers to use in the classroom which take students back in time to discover what life was like for the Lewis and Clark Expedition during its 1805-06 winter stay at Fort Clatsop. These resources are offered either for loan or purchase.

FORT CLATSOP INSTITUTE
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES

SOCIETY OFFERS LEWIS & CLARK CURRICULUM