CLARKSVILLE, Ind — A major historic site with significance for the entire community is now in the talks of redevelopment.
Indiana State Park officials want to know what should happen with the homesite of George Rogers Clark, where a replica cabin burned to the ground.
Many say this was the actual start of the famed Lewis and Clark Expedition, not St. Louis.
"The Lewis and Clark expedition started right there when they met and shook hands. So it's an important part of our community's history," Lynn Lewis said.
Lewis lives in Clarksville and said she remembers the day the George Rogers Clark Cabin burned down after someone set it on fire.
"I could see the smoke from my backyard. And it was just a true real tragedy for our community," she said.
Now, state park officials like Alan Goldstein want to know what community members would like to see on the site.
"It's critical. I mean, these days, you don't want to do something without getting the input from your users," Goldstein said.
Officials said it's important to talk to everyone in the public to decide what's going to happen next.
"Now, there's other people that are really focused more on George Rogers Clark," Goldstein said. "But we also want to talk about the Indigenous people, the Black community, because Guinea Bottoms was the first free African American community north of the Ohio River and the Northwest Territories."
Goldstein said that day in May 2021 was something none of them could have ever imagined.
Goldstein said it felt like "somebody burning down a playhouse in your backyard."
Now, there's a chimney sitting where this replica of history once sat.
For Lewis, she said she's open to a number of ideas but wants to make sure the history of the area is preserved.
"We want our cabin back," she said. "But perhaps they can offer us something that will be even better."
Some, like historian Chuck Lewis, said he'd even like to see plays or other educational events happen so they can share the stories of other historical figures important to the area.
"Something that we can move around, maybe for school children, maybe for senior citizen groups," Lewis said.
All agreed now is the time to bring the site back to life.
The park is bringing in an architecture group out of Indianapolis that they believe will help stick to their mission of preserving the history of the site.
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