First in a series

2 Lewis and Clark centers are open

This year, you'll be hearing plenty about Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. A couple brand-new historical centers now are open for neat tours to explain their epic exploration 200 years ago.

One is the Lewis and Clark State Historic Site at Hartford, Ill. That's just north of I-270 on Illinois Rte 3 on the east side of the Mississippi River.

Then, there's the Lewis and Clark Boathouse and Nature Center in downtown St. Charles. This is on the Missouri River.

Fall is a perfect time of the year for a weekend visit to the centers. By using I-270, you could explore both of them in one day.

Last month, Young Saint Louis.com visited both centers. This article will review highlights of the centers.

Before you and your family take a trip, you should to call ahead for directions. Also, you could review the centers' websites.

To contact the Illinois center, call (618) 251-5811 or send an e-mail to clark@campdubois.com. The center's website is at www.campdubois.com.

For the St. Charles center, call (636) 947-3199. That center's website is at www.lewisandclark.net. This website also gives lots of information about the reenactment tour that is underway from the east coast to St. Louis.

You'll want to visit that website on a regular basis to check the trip's progress. Three St. Louis area teachers are key figures in the reenactment. One has the part of Captain Lewis. To learn more about that trip, you can click here for a past YSL.com story.

The Illinois site has a unique historical significance. It is located just across from where the Missouri River empties into the Mississippi. This is the site of Camp Dubois. That's the camp where Lewis and Clark wintered before starting the Journey of Discovery in 1804.

One exhibit in the Illinois center is a replica of a full-sized replica of Lewis and Clark's keelboat. The neat thing is that it's just half a boat.

When you enter the exhibit area, you see what looks like a complete boat. But, when you go on the other side, you see the model has been cut away lengthwise. That means you can see what the boat looked like inside.

Beneath where the crew sat, there is lots of storage spaces for supplies and equipment.

It seems like a lot of space. But, you must remember they had to take along supplies for a two-year trip. And, in those days, there wasn't a corner McDonald's or a Wal-Mart to buy more stuff.

You'll want to view a 15-minute video at the center's theater. It gives a view of what the area was like 200 years ago.

Also, outside the center, log cabins being built look just like the Camp Dubois originals.

The St. Charles center has been open only for a couple months. However, the center is run by a local historical group that's been working on Lewis and Clark history for many years.

In fact, local artist Evangeline Groth has been designing museum exhibits since 1985.

That's when local homebuilder Glen Bishop built his first replica of a Lewis and Clark keelboat in his backyard. Lewis and Clark turned out to be a lifelong hobby.

The St. Charles center has a unique design. It's a two-story building with an open ground floor. That's used for boat storage but was left open-sided for when the nearby Missouri River is in flood stage.

The finished second floor includes historical exhibits, a trading post and a classroom. The classroom schedule already is full for this semester. But, if your class is interested, you can make a reservation for next semester.

A feature of the exhibit area is a timeline that shows how the Journey of Discovery developed. It started with President Thomas Jefferson setting up a team to explore the new Louisiana Purchase territory.

At that time, St. Louis on the east edge that huge territory that ran to the Pacific Ocean.

You get to know more about Sacagawea. She's the Shoshone Indian who joined the group after it left St. Louis. She was the squaw of a French trader who was hired as a scout.

From the exhibit area you can look out giant picture windows to see the Missouri River.

(Watch each month for Lewis and Clark articles during 2003-2004 school year.)

 

Unique gun powder kegs One way to save storage space was to use things that had more than one purpose. For instance, these gun powder kegs were made of lead. The containers kept the powder dry. Then, the continer was melted to make the shot that was fired with the powder.