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Travelers to St. Louis
Can Take A Lewis & Clark Adventure

Visitors can follow in the footsteps of legendary American explorers Lewis & Clark at the historic sites along the geographic beginnings of their famous trail. The Lewis & Clark expedition (1804-1806) is considered one of the major explorations of the world and is credited for opening the American West. Using St. Louis as a base, modern day explorers can find a multitude of Lewis & Clark-related sites and activities plus enjoy the many attractions of St. Louis - the largest city along the Lewis & Clark Trail. "Must-see" stops include:

The Jefferson National Expansion Memorial (Gateway Arch): The nation's tallest man-made monument sits at the site where America's monumental journey of exploration began. The Gateway Arch soars 630 feet above the St. Louis banks of the Mississippi River. The stainless steel monument, officially named the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, honors U.S. President Thomas Jefferson and his vision of a continental United States as well as the Native American and European people who lived and settled in the American West. The Arch has become an internationally recognized symbol for St. Louis and the city's historic role in the nation's expansion from coast-to-coast.

Beneath the Arch, the Museum of Westward Expansion provides visitors with 200 years of human history related to the American westward movement. Beautiful photographic murals depicting scenes along Lewis & Clark's "journey of discovery" route are described in Captain Lewis' own words through excerpts from his journal. Other exhibits put faces with the historic characters who played vital roles in the nation's biggest growth period. Life-sized animatronic figures of explorer William Clark of Lewis & Clark fame, Native American chief Red Cloud and a brave Buffalo Soldier bring the opening of the American West to life. Also found here is the world's largest collection of Indian Peace Medals including the medal design Lewis & Clark presented to Native American leaders they met along their route. Touring the free museum is a popular way to pass the time before taking a tram ride to the top of the Arch for a spectacular view of the Mississippi River - one of the great American waterways mastered by Lewis & Clark.

At the Arch's Odyssey Theatre, the National Geographic large format film, Lewis & Clark: Great Journey West, takes movie-goers back 200 years to experience a monumental quest - the journey of Lewis, Clark and their Corps of Discovery through the adventure, danger and beauty of the unmapped West. The film runs throughout the day during 2006. Tickets are available on site or advance purchases can be made on-line at www.gatewayarch.com.

The famous captains proud return to St. Louis is elegantly depicted by a statue on the St. Louis levee. Titled "The Captains' Return," the 23-foot-high sculpture by world-renowned artist Harry Weber, looms large on the banks of the Mississippi just south of the historic Eads Bridge and downhill from the Gateway Arch. The bronze depiction of Lewis, Clark and Lewis' dog Seaman weighs more than three-and-a-half tons.

William Clark's journal, his clothing and other artifacts of the expedition are part of an extensive Lewis & Clark collection at the Missouri History Museum in Forest Park. Also on display are items from Clark's St. Louis office or "council room" where he performed his duties as a federal Indian agent. Objects from the council room include furnishings, Clark's sword and rifle, maps, Native American artifacts and natural specimens. An adjacent display houses the original Louisiana Purchase Transfer Document that formalized the transfer of the Upper Louisiana Territory from Spain to France to the United States on March 9 and 10, 1804. Among the signers of that document: Meriwether Lewis. Lewis, Clark and the Corps of Discovery were awaiting the transfer to take place so they legally could begin to explore the newly acquired U.S. territory. The museum's north entrance features a map of the Louisiana Purchase territory etched in the stone walkway that traces the Corps of Discovery route.

At Powder Valley Conservation Nature Center, located only 20-minutes from downtown St. Louis off fabled Route 66, an exhibit titled, "St. Louis: Founded With Wildlife," demonstrates the role of wildlife trade in the development of St. Louis and credits the Lewis & Clark expedition with the expansion of that enterprise. Visitors also can explore Powder Valley's 112-forested acres via three trails of different lengths and difficulty including a level one-third mile paved path that is baby stroller and wheelchair accessible. Paths are shared with wild turkeys, chipmunks, raccoons and the whitetail deer that call the forest home. Powder Valley is operated free of charge by the Missouri Department of Conservation.

William Clark was a Virginian by birth and a St. Louisan by choice. Clark's adopted hometown pays homage to the explorer with a star and biographic plaque along the St. Louis Walk of Fame. Clark's star, located at 6619 Delmar Boulevard, is among 100 such tributes glittering along the sidewalks along Delmar Boulevard in St. Louis' lively Loop neighborhood. Other honorees include St. Louis trailblazers who have made major contributions to our culture in the fields of arts and entertainment, science and technology, sports, politics and history including playwright Tennessee Williams, baseball great Yogi Berra, diva Tina Turner, President Ulysses S. Grant and musicians Chuck Berry and Miles Davis, to name a few.

Clark's biographic plaque along the St. Louis Walk of Fame reads: "After the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, Thomas Jefferson asked William Clark and Meriwether Lewis to explore the newly acquired but uncharted northwest. An Army captain, Clark set off with Lewis from St. Charles on May 14, 1804 and vividly chronicled their 28-month trek to the Pacific and back in his drawings and journal. He then lived in St. Louis until his death, serving as governor of the Missouri Territory and as Superintendent of Indian Affairs. Mourned as a great leader, his funeral procession was a mile long. The Arch stands on the spot of Lewis and Clark's return, a monument to the westward expansion pioneered by William Clark."

After his famous journey, William Clark made St. Louis his home and became a prominent citizen. He truly became a permanent resident after his death, buried in the city's Bellefontaine Cemetery. Clark's stature is evident by the elaborate granite obelisk and bust of the explorer. The monument's inscription reads: "Soldier, Explorer, Statesman and Patriot. His Life is Written in the History of His Country." William Clark's grave faces the confluence of the
Mississippi and Missouri Rivers. The cemetery is open daily; maps are available to guide visitors to the Clark gravesite.

At Calvary Cemetery, adjacent to Clark's resting place at Bellefontaine, see the gravesite and monument to four Native Americans who met and aided Lewis, Clark and the Corps of Discovery during the expedition. Known as the "St. Louis Warriors" - Black Eagle, Man-of-the-Morning/Speaking Eagle, No-Horns-on-His-Head and Rabbit-Skin-Leggings - were members of the Nez Perce tribe.

Before their triumphant return to St. Louis, captains Lewis, Clark and the corps members spent the final night of their return voyage at Fort Belle Fontaine, the first U.S. military fort west of the Mississippi. The fort, constructed in 1805, was a new addition to the Missouri River landscape for Lewis & Clark. Shifts in the Missouri River channel have long buried the original site underwater, but interpretive markers at Fort Belle Fontaine County Park, located in suburban north St. Louis County, describe the events of Lewis & Clark's stay there.

In addition to resting and celebrating their return with fellow American soldiers stationed at the fort, members of the expedition also shopped at the post store. Among the items purchased that September 22, 1806, were clothes for Mandan Chief Sheheke. The Chief had returned with the Corps and planned to wear his new gear during a meeting with President Thomas Jefferson. The interpretive markers are set high on a bluff that provides spectacular views of the Missouri and the extremely wooded riverbank that looks much as it would have when Lewis & Clark were there. From the interpretive area, visitors also can see the location of a campsite on the north side of the Missouri where the Corps stayed on their way West.

St. Louis was still under Spanish control at the time Thomas Jefferson dispatched Lewis & Clark and the "Corps of Discovery" on their mission. Captain Lewis spent most of the winter of 1803-1804 in St. Louis making preparations for the journey and awaiting official transfer of the territory from Spanish to French and then to United States control. During that time, the rest of the party camped upriver from St. Louis in southwestern Illinois.

The Lewis & Clark State Historic Site in Hartford, Illinois, located only a short drive from Downtown St. Louis' Gateway Arch. The site, located near Lewis & Clark's campground, offers a film that introduces visitors to the camp and describes the preparations for the trip made by the members of the Corps of Discovery while they were there. The centerpiece of the interpretive center is a replica of the 55-foot-long keelboat Lewis & Clark used to explore the Missouri River. In addition to the interpretive center, visitors can walk through a replica of the 5-month winter quarters of the expedition at Camp Dubois.

Behind the Historic Site, along the banks of the Mississippi River, visitors can literally see the confluence of the nation's two great rivers - the Mississippi and Missouri - that provided Lewis & Clark their watery highway to the West. The site is marked by a monument comprised of eleven stone pillars - one for each state the explorers passed through on their trek to the Pacific. Descriptive plaques detail their exploits along the route.

Just 15-minutes from downtown St. Louis in nearby Cahokia, Illinois, stands Cahokia Courthouse. Built in 1740, the Cahokia Courthouse is the oldest standing building that was part of the United States government during the period when Lewis & Clark were in the region and an excellent example of Colonial French log construction known as poteaux-sur-solle. The Courthouse was where Clark received and sent correspondence from Thomas Jefferson and where he and Lewis met with territorial leaders. An exhibit within the historic building relates to Lewis & Clark's experiences in the area and features quotes from the correspondence between the explorers and their president.

A few short blocks from Cahokia Courthouse is Holy Family Church. Founded in 1699 by Spanish and French explorers, it is believed that members of the Corps of Discovery attended services at the still-operating log church. Next door to the church stands the Jarrot Mansion, the oldest brick building in Illinois. Jarrot was a powerful businessman and landowner who allowed Lewis & Clark to build their winter camp - Camp DuBois - along the Wood River just north of Cahokia.

In his journals, William Clark referenced the many Indian burial mounds that filled the landscape in and around St. Louis. Today, visitors can take a trip 1300 years back in time via a visit to Cahokia Mounds Historic Site, located across the Mississippi from downtown St. Louis in neighboring Collinsville, Illinois. This United Nations World Heritage archeological site, once home to a thriving metropolis of more than 20,000 persons, contains the remains of the largest pre-Columbian city North of Mexico with over 60 dirt mounds, including the 100-foot Monk's Mound. An interactive exhibit features a film, artifacts and displays highlighting the way of life of these ancient "St. Louisans."

See the merging of the nation's two great rivers on which Lewis & Clark traveled - the Mississippi and Missouri at the Edward "Ted" and Pat Jones Confluence Point State Park and also at the viewing station at the Columbia Bottom Conservation Area. Well-designed interpretive signage about the Lewis & Clark expedition greet guests at the entrance to the Columbia Bottom Nature Center.

St. Louis' neighbor to the north, St. Charles, Missouri served as the expedition's first campsite along the Missouri River during May 1804 and was the place where the final preparations for the journey were made. Like its larger neighbor
St. Louis, St. Charles began as a French fur-trading post and served as Missouri's first state capital during the 1820s. Each May, St. Charles holds the Lewis and Clark Rendezvous, a re-enactment of the encampment, replete with historically accurate costumed participants, black powder rifle shoots and other frontier craft demonstrations. The new Lewis and Clark Boat House and Nature Center located on the Missouri River houses three replicas of the boats used by the Corps of Discovery and exhibits about the expedition with a focus on the St. Charles townspeople of the period and their role in the expedition.

Intrepid travelers can hike or bike their way along 165-miles of the Lewis & Clark Trail via the Katy Trail. The Manitou Bluffs, noted in Clark's journal, can be seen from the trail. A former railroad right-of-way turned bike path, the Katy Trail winds its way from St. Charles through the scenic Missouri Wine Country. The home of famed frontiersman Daniel Boone in Defiance, Missouri is a few miles from the bike trail/winery town of Augusta. While Lewis & Clark did not meet Boone during their journey, their journals mention that they passed Boone's homestead. The Daniel Boone Home and Boonesfield Village, a settlement of early-1800s buildings, is open for viewing from March through November.  		 
 

MEDIA NOTE: For more information or photography of St. Louis, send an e-mail to pr@explorestlouis.com or call Becky Sharp at 1-314-992-0652. For up-to-date information about St. Louis, your readers should call the St. Louis Convention & Visitors Commission at 1-800-916-0040 or check out our website at www.explorestlouis.com. This news release is also available in electronic form. To obtain an electronic version, e-mail your request to pr@explorestlouis.com or go to St. Louis’ online media center at www.explorestlouis.com/media.