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Lewis & Clark at the Falls of the Ohio
Fact Sheet
What are we talking about?
In April 2001 the National Council of the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial
designated the Falls of the Ohio,
including the southern Indiana community of Clarksville, as a site for one of a
dozen “National Signature Events” to be conducted during the 2003—2006
bicentennial commemoration. The Falls of the Ohio event will be conducted from
October 13 to 26, 2003, the period which marks the 200th anniversary of
Meriwether Lewis’s arrival at the Falls of the Ohio and the departure of the
Corps of Discovery on the expedition that would take them to the Pacific Ocean
and back.
Who was William Clark?
William Clark, a native of Virginia and younger brother of General George Rogers
Clark, was the co-captain of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. He was living in
Clarksville with his brother George during the months before Lewis arrived at
the Falls. William also served on the Clarksville Board of Trustees, of which
George was chairman, and as town surveyor. William Clark had been Meriwether
Lewis’s superior officer in the Army during the 1790’s when they served under
the command of General Anthony Wayne.
Why is the Falls of the Ohio significant?
William Clark was living at the Falls of time Ohio when Lewis invited him to
serve as co-captain of the expedition. It was here that Clark recruited
seven members of the expedition and where Lewis and Clark met. After their
meeting, Clarksville became their base of operations. It is where they swore in
and trained the nucleus of the Corps of Discovery and appointed the
noncommissioned officers, including Sgt. Charles Floyd, a former Clarksville
constable who would be the only member to die on the expedition The party
departed from Clarksville on October 26, 1803. It consisted of twelve members,
including the two captains, seven men recruited locally by William Clark, two
who joined Lewis along the way from Pittsburgh, and York, Clark’s slave. The
expedition returned to the Falls on November 5, 1806.
Who’s planning the local Signature Event?
The Falls of the Ohio event is being planned by the Falls of the Ohio Lewis and
Clark Bicentennial Committee, a 501 (C)3 corporation which represents over three
dozen historical, educational, and cultural organizations and individuals in
Louisville and southern Indiana who have a particular interest in local history.
The group has been meeting for more than three years to raise awareness of the
local significance of the Lewis and Clark Expedition.
The Southern Indiana Clark—Floyd Counties Convention and Tourism Bureau is a
major participant and promoter of the activities which will lead to the National
Commemoration of Lewis and Clark’s departure Sunday, October 26, 2003.
For more information, contact:
James P. Keith
Executive Director
Clark-Floyd Counties
Convention & Tourism Bureau
315 Southern Indiana Avenue
Jeffersonville, IN 47130
(812) 282-6654
tourism@sunnysideoflouisville.org
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