Lewis and Clark

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CORPS OF DISCOVERY
LEWIS AND CLARK EXPEDITION

"WHERE IT ALL BEGAN"

LEWIS & CLARK

1803 - On October 4 or 5, Lewis pushed his boat and pirogues back into the river and headed west for the falls of the Ohio, some one hundred miles downstream. On October 14, he was at the head of the falls, which were actually long rapids created by a twenty-four-foot drop of the river over a two-mile-long series of limestone ledges. At the foot of the rapids on the north bank, was Clarksville, Indiana Territory. Louisville, Kentucky, was on the south bank. On October 15, Lewis hired local pilots, who took the boat and pirogues into the dangerous but passable passages on the north bank. Safely through, Lewis tied up at Clarksville and set off to meet his partner, who was living with his older brother, General George Rogers Clark.

When they shook hands, the Lewis and Clark Expedition began.
(Undaunted Courage, Stephen Ambrose, page 117.)

The keelboat and pirogues set off from Clarksville on October 26, 1803 (Undaunted Courage, Stephen Ambrose, page 118.)

LEWIS AND CLARK INFO:

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EVENTS CALENDAR

The George Rogers Clark home site in Clarksville has been designated by the National Park Service as an official site associated with the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail. (Refer to News Page for media coverage.) The home site is located on Harrison Avenue in Clarksville and is part of the Falls of the Ohio State Park. This site is where Meriwether Lewis and William Clark (younger brother of George Rogers Clark) established a base camp and later departed from here for their expedition to explore the west on October 26, 1803.

Today a replica cabin of Clark's home stands on the site and additional developments for this site are in the works which are also part of the Ohio River Greenway Commission. An annual festival commemorating the departure is held the fourth weekend in October. See Calendar of Events for more information.