Lewis & Clark Kentucky Journey Map

Wickliffe Lewis and Clark spent almost one week at the confluence of the Ohio and the Mississippi Rivers in November 1803. They visited the ruins of Fort Jefferson, built in 1780 by William Clark's brother George Rogers Clark. The Fort Jefferson Memorial Cross at the Confluence honors the outpost and the confluence.

Paducah Lewis and Clark camped in present McCracken County west of the future size of Paducah on November 13, 1803, after leaving
Fort Massac across the Ohio. The Clarks owned large tracts of land in the area. Clark founded Paducah in 1827. A sculpture and floodwall mural section memorialize the explorers.

Hopkinsville William Clark and his family stopped in Hopkinsville at Allsbury's Tavern at Main and Court Sts. on October 2, 1809, on their way to Russellville and then Louisville to visit family.

Russellville William Clark and his family visited family in Russellville on October 3-7, 1809. On October 21, 1809,

the Russellville Farmer's Friend, whose office was at 4th and Main Sts., was one of the first newspapers to reprint an account from a Nashville paper reporting Meriwether Lewis's death.

Henderson Lewis and Clark passed by and likely stopped in Henderson in early November 1803 on their way down the Ohio. In February and April 1807 expedition veteran Robert Frazer stopped in Henderson in route to and from Washington on government business regarding the Burr Conspiracy. William Clark and family visited in June 1810 while returning to St. Louis from a visit to Kentucky and the East.

West Point In 1803 expedition blacksmith-gunsmith John Shields was living in West Point near present 3rd and Elm Sts. when recruited for the journey. The nucleus of the Corps of Discovery stopped here after leaving the Falls of the Ohio.

Louisville William Clark and York called the Clark family farm Mulberry Hill (present George Rogers Circle Park) home from 1785 to 1803. Jonathan Clark's home Trough Spring, brother-in-law Richard Anderson's home Soldier's Retreat,

and Clark sister Lucy Croghan's home Locust Grove are all important Lewis and Clark sites. Expedition members Joseph Reuben Field, Charles Floyd, and Nathaniel Pryor hailed from Louisville. They together with five others were here in the summer and fall of 1803 and became the first permanent enlisted members of the Corps of Discovery. Lewis and Clark met in Louisville for the expedition on October 14, 1803, and returned on November 5, 1806. There are other sites associated with the explorers here, including a heroic size bronze of York on the Belvedere. The Filson Historical Society holds a nationally significant Lewis and Clark collection. The Filson and Locust Grove are official sites on the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail. See the Falls of the Ohio section under Kentucky Places on the Lewis and Clark in Kentucky website for additional information.

Shelbyville Meriwether Lewis and William Clark visited here at various times, including in 1806 on their way east to Washington to report on the expedition. It was here, on October 28, 1809, while on a trip east, that Clark read a newspaper report that Lewis had killed himself.

Graefenburg William Clark stayed at the tavern of John Shannon just west of here on October 28, 1809. Having read a report earlier that day of Meriwether Lewis's suicide he wrote his brother Jonathan about the distressing news and his fear that his friend had indeed killed himself.

Frankfort The Frankfort newspapers Palladium and Western World carried important news of the return of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Meriwether Lewis, a party of expedition veterans, and Indian delegations were here November 13-15, 1806, on their way east. Lewis again passed through in January 1808 on his way west to St. Louis. William Clark visited on October 29, 1809, on his way east, and discussed the death of Meriwether Lewis while dining with friends at Weisinger's Hotel at Main and Ann Sts. historic homes such as Liberty Hall and the old governor's mansion date from the period. The Brown family of Liberty Hall were Clark family friends and associates.

Kentucky's Lewis and Clark legacy is significant. In 1803 Meriwether Lewis with a temporary party and two young men on trial for the expedition sailed the expedition's keelboat and red pirogue down the Ohio to Louisville at the Falls of the Ohio. There, on October 14, 1803, he joined William Clark, thus actually forming the historic partnership of Lewis and Clark. It was at the Falls that the nucleus of the Corps of Discovery was enlisted - the famous Nine Young Men from Kentucky. Clark's enslaved African American York also became an unofficial member of the party. The foundation had been laid for the greatest exploring venture in the in the history of the United States. Leaving the Falls on October 26, they reached the Mississippi on November 14. Until the Corps' return, letters, reports, and artifacts were received by Kentucky family and friends.

Kentucky newspapers reported on the expedition's progress. In the last days of September 1806 Patrick Gass and other expedition veterans reached Louisville with word that the main party had successfully returned from the west, having arrived in St. Louis on September 23. On October 9, 1806, the Frankfort Palladium printed word of their return. Its October 9 edition printed William Clark's letter to his brother Jonathan announcing their return and reporting on their journey. On November 5, Lewis, Clark, York, and other expedition veterans arrived in Louisville, just over three years since leaving. On November 8 their return was celebrated at Locust Grove, the home of Clark sister Lucy Croghan. Lewis left a couple of days later for Frankfort and then took the Wilderness Road through the Cumberland Gap. Clark followed in mid-December, also taking the Wilderness Road.

While the famous captains and some of their men would travel through Kentucky in years to come, in many respects the expedition can be said to truly come to an end in 1809. It was in the fall of 1809 that Clark and his family visited Kentucky. While stopped in Shelbyville, Clark read a report that his partner in discovery had killed himself in Tennessee. That night, from a tavern near present Graefenburg, Clark wrote his brother Jonathan, "I fear O! I fear the weight of his mind has over come him." While continuing east through Frankfort, Lexington, and over the Wilderness Road through the Cumberland Gap, Clark gathered information about Lewis's death. The death of Meriwether Lewis ended this famous partnership and friendship, and truly brought the Lewis and Clark Expedition to a close.
For additional information go to www.lewisandclarkinkentucky.org

Lexington Meriwether Lewis was the guest of honor at a dinner at Wilson's Inn at the SE corner of Main and Limestone Sts. (present Phoenix Park) on January 20, 1808. William Clark stayed at Cuthbert Bank's hotel at the NE corner of Short and Upper Sts. on October 30, 1809, and visited expedition veteran George Shannon. Shannon mowed here in October 1808 to attend Transylvania and called Lexington home for the next twenty years. His home was on Main between Mill and Broadway and his law office was in Jordan's Row on Upper St. on the east side of the courthouse square. Henry Clay was an associate of both William Clark and George Shannon. His 1804 to cs. 1810 law office is on Mill St. between 2nd and Church Sts.

Danville William Clark stopped in Danville in December 1806 to visit his nephews at Joshua Fry's school (present site of Centenary United Methodist Church at 3rd and Walnut Sts.) while on his way to Washington. It is likely that Meriwether Lewis with a party of expedition veterans and Mandan Indians had also stopped here in November 1806 since they too took the Wilderness Road through the Cumberland Gap. Both Grayson's Tavern at 1st and Walnut Sts. and the first post office west of the Alleghenies on Constitution Square date from when the explorers visited.

Cumberland Gap National Historical Park Lewis and Clark and expedition members passed through the Gap a number of times over the years. Meriwether Lewis, a party of expedition veterans and a Mandan Indian delegation passed through the Gap in November 1806 on their way to Washington. Willam Clark and York passed through the Gap on their way to Washington in December 1806. Cumberland Gap is an official site on the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail.

Big Bone Lick State Park Meriwether Lewis and William Clark both visited Big Bone Lick for Thomas Jefferson in order to collect specimens for him. Lewis visited in October 1803 on his way down the Ohio to meet Clark in Louisville.

Clark conducted a major dig in September 1807. Scientists consider Clark's dig, with its results, to be the beginning of paleontology as an accepted scientific discipline. It is an official site on the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail.

Maysville Expedition member John Colter was from Maysville and Mason County. Meriwether Lewis passed by and most likely stopped at Maysville in September 1803 on his way down the Ohio to meet William Clark in Louisville.