The Lewis and Clark Expedition; where did it all really begin?

St. Louis Post-Dispatch, August 30, 2003

A replica keelboat and accompanying flotilla float down the Monogahela River from Pittsburgh to Brunot's Island one mile downstream Sunday, Aug. 31, 2003, to mark the 200th anniversary of Merriweather Lewis' departure from Pittsburgh to begin his history journey to explore the American west. Lewis left Pittsburgh on Aug. 31, 1803, and met William Clark several weeks later. (AP)
PITTSBURGH - Two hundred years ago Sunday, Meriwether Lewis and 11 men climbed aboard a brand new keelboat and pushed off from a riverbank here. This was either a minor blip in history or a momentous event worthy of celebration. To historian Andy Masich, this is the starting point of the Lewis and Clark Expedition: Pittsburgh - not St. Louis, not St. Charles, Mo., and not Hartford, Ill., the traditional contenders for the title of "where it all began." And so Pittsburgh is hosting a series of expedition-themed celebrations this weekend. "We say the Corps of Discovery started in Pittsburgh," said Masich, head of the Heinz History Center there. "In our opinion, St. Louis was a stopover in the journey, and not even a planned one at that."

For years, St. Louis has maintained a stranglehold on the historical legacy of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. The event has long been rooted in the region's identity, from the nickname "Gateway to the West" to the symbolism of the Gateway Arch. And nearly a third of the 15 signature events of the National Council of the Lewis & Clark Bicentennial are being held in St. Louis or surrounding communities. But two centuries after the fact, the battle over bragging rights burns anew. St. Louis has long been the center of this friendly dispute. The towns of St. Charles to the west and Hartford to the east have argued for years over which is the true starting point, to no avail. Now you can add Pittsburgh to the list - plus Elizabeth, Pa., a small town just south of Pittsburgh, which claims it, too, was the beginning of the journey. "Everyone wants to claim it started here or there," said Darold Jackson, president of a St. Charles-based group that plans to re-enact the entire three-year trip.

All journeys need starting points. And while Lewis and William Clark never seemed to have agonized over it - leaving just enough ambiguity to spur the conversation - communities today are clamoring for the title. "In many ways, the debate is our debate, not (Lewis and Clark's) debate," said Robert Archibald, president of both the National Council and the Missouri Historical Society in St. Louis. "It's a debate over tourism dollars and a debate over local pride." Pittsburgh's pride was hurt when it failed to secure one of the bicentennial's signature events. The problem: "They didn't apply," Archibald said.

A letter from Lewis

But Masich is looking to regain what he calls Pittsburgh's rightful title to being "The Gateway to the West." Lewis came to Pittsburgh to pick up his keelboat in July 1803. He had instructions from President Thomas Jefferson to search for a water passage leading from the Missouri River to the Pacific Ocean. Jefferson also wanted him to explore the Louisiana Territory, which had just been purchased from France. Lewis hoped to get going right away. But he was stuck in Pittsburgh waiting for a shipbuilder slowed by a fondness for drink. Lewis also waited for Clark to write back from outside Louisville, Ky., to accept or decline an invitation to join him. Clark soon replied that he would be waiting at The Falls of the Ohio. At 11 a.m. Aug. 31, 1803, Lewis set out on the Monongahela River, traveling a short way to where it converges with the Allegheny River, forming the Ohio. The spot is now the apex of downtown Pittsburgh, a city about the same size as St. Louis. Masich bolsters his case for Pittsburgh as the starting point with a letter that Lewis wrote to Clark on June 19, 1803. In it, Lewis refers to Pittsburgh as "the intended point of embarkation." "We're going with Lewis' interpretation of the trip," Masich said. Masich described Lewis and Clark's journey as the Apollo mission of its day - as both were ambitious explorations of the unknown. He extends the analogy to highlight Pittsburgh's role. "It's the Cape Canaveral of its age," he said. But there is plenty of disagreement with that view.

Borough of Elizabeth

Even congressmen are stepping into the fray. Rep. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., and Tim Murphy, R-Pa., got into a good-natured debate at the Heinz Center last week over "where it all began." "Since the goal was to explore the Missouri River, then it was hard to begin the expedition before you get to the Missouri," Blunt, a history buff, recalled arguing. Blunt also gave Murphy and Masich two new Missouri state quarters - which on its reverse side show the Arch and a boat carrying Lewis, Clark and Clark's slave, York. Masich and Murphy then pointed out to Blunt that not only was the keelboat made in Pittsburgh, but so was the steel used in the Arch. "I still think I won the discussion," Blunt said afterward, laughing. But there are competing claims even in Pittsburgh. Elizabeth, a historic river town 17 miles away down a winding highway, has blue banners hanging from lampposts boasting, "Borough of Elizabeth - Where It All Began." "Absolutely. No doubt. It started here," said Albert Roll, an Elizabeth resident wearing a Masonic Lodge tuxedo one night as he handed out broadsheets describing the Masons' involvement in the expedition. "They just ended up in St. Louis." Historians disagree about where the boat was built, whether it was in Pittsburgh or Elizabeth. But Elizabeth didn't miss its chance to play it up. The town hosted a four-day Lewis and Clark festival and was home to the re-enactors for several days, allowing them to camp out on a boat dock and providing a harbor for their replica keelboat.

Clark's journal entry

Another claim to being the expedition's origin is found at the $7 million Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center, located just outside Hartford, across the Mississippi River from the mouth of the Missouri. Painted prominently on a wall just inside the front door is what Clark wrote in his journal on May 14, 1804, after a long winter at Camp River Dubois, not far from the interpretive center: "The mouth of the River Dubois is to be considered as the point of departure." "You can't miss it," staff historian Michael Stout said. In fact, the quote is posted twice in the building. "It's like we're saying, 'We're not making this up,'" Stout said. Clark and many of the expedition members spent the winter near Hartford waiting for the formal transfer of the Louisiana Purchase. Lewis spent much of that time in St. Louis. Stout said he considers Camp River Dubois as the place where the journey started. And a signature event is planned there in May 2004. But first the center must repair the sidewalk leading to a monument honoring the expedition. The monument's 11 pillars - one for each state the crew passed through - are still there, but the sidewalk leading to it has seriously subsided. For now, the road to the monument is closed.

But the most prominent claim to being the jumping-off point is found in St. Charles, 25 miles from Hartford. St. Charles' convention and visitors bureau printed up brochures that unequivocally state that the town is "Where America's Journey of Discovery Began." And the Discovery Expedition of St. Charles is leading the re-enactment effort. Its volunteer members built replicas of all three boats, plus raised the money to erect a boathouse and its own interpretive center not far from the brick streets of historic downtown. Venetia McEntire, head of the St. Charles bicentennial commission, said the case for her town as the starting point is simple: Clark arrived in St. Charles from Camp River Dubois, Lewis came in from St. Louis, and after several days of final preparations, together they headed west in the boats. "If it was the expedition of just Clark, or the expedition of just Lewis, then we'd have to go back and change everything," McEntire said. But this was the expedition of Lewis and Clark. McEntire said the rivalry between communities in the St. Louis region has softened a bit since they began working together on signature events. But she understands the fuss over settling on a starting point. "If there wasn't a beginning and an end," McEntire said, "then there wouldn't be an expedition." Back in Pittsburgh, Masich knows he's arguing a case few in the St. Louis area are willing to take seriously. Some even argue that the journey started in Jefferson's mind, as he dreamed up the possibility of exploring the new American West. That would make Charlottesville, Va., the starting point. And others have made the case for Fort Mandan in North Dakota, where Sacajawea joined the expedition. "I guess," Masich said, "it kinda depends on how you look at it."

Reporter Todd C. Frankel: E-mail: tfrankel@post-dispatch.com

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A replica keelboat and accompanying flotilla float down the Ohio River from Pittsburgh to Brunot's Island one mile downstream Sunday, Aug. 31, 2003, to mark the 200th anniversary of Merriweather Lewis's departure from Pittsburgh to begin his history journey to explore the American west. Lewis left Pittsburgh on Aug. 31, 1803, and met William Clark several weeks later. (AP)