Lewis and Clark

Travel America, Sept-Oct, 2004 by Nancy Baren Miller

The Louisville, Kentucky, area has many sites connected to explorers Lewis and Clark. The nucleus of the Corps of Discovery left the Falls of the Ohio on October 26, 1803, from Clarkesville, Indiana (across the Ohio River). Louisville's Riverfront Plaza/Belvedere has a statue of York, William Clark's slave and the first African-American to cross the United States from coast to coast.

Locust Grove, open to touring, was the home of William Croghan and his wife Lucy Clark Croghan, William Clark's sister. Lewis and Clark stopped in 1806 at Locust Grove for a family celebration. The Filson Historical Society has one of the most significant Lewis and Clark collections in the nation. Holdings include six letters written by Clark and one by Lewis during the expedition, a diary written by Jonathan Clark noting their departure and return, and a bighorn sheep horn given to Clark's youngest sister. Many historians believe it is the only verified animal artifact from the expedition. To learn more, visit www.gotolouisville.com., www.locustgrove.org, and www.filsonhistorical.org.