CLARKSVILLE, Ind. — You'll find tributes to Lewis and Clark around Kentuckiana, and their legacy is even more official now. Monday morning, politicians and park leaders hosted a celebration at the Falls of the Ohio State Park. The Lewis and Clark National & Historic Trail is expanding 1,200 miles, and Clarksville holds a very significant spot in that project.
Since the late 1960s, the trail has run from St. Louis to the Oregon Coast. That may have been where the official exploration started from, but the journey of Lewis and Clark started many miles and states before Missouri.
The year was 1803. Meriwether Lewis traveled from Pittsburgh to meet William Clark in Clarksville. His brother founded the town, and that's where the pair also joined their Corps of Discovery. They had a mission to explore the West, and the rest is history.
Senator Todd Young and others wanted to see that history more recognized in Indiana. He created the Eastern Legacy Extension Act, which now takes the trail from St. Louis all the way to Pittsburgh. President Trump signed it into law in March, and it not only includes Clarksville but Indiana's entire southern border.
"Until this year, the trail was incomplete. It ignored the years and the places leading up to St. Louis when Lewis and Clark were training, recruiting, and preparing for their journey,” Young said. "They were joining forces where we stand today to begin an exploration that would really change the world."
Clark's great, great, great grandson, Bud Clark, spoke at Monday’s celebration and said this means so much more than just more miles on a trail.
"That will be the legacy of the Eastern Legacy. People coming together to mark their history and the special things that happened in their own backyards,” Bud Clark said.
Lewis and Clark started their official exploration in October 1803 and finished in November 1807. Leaders said they were inspired by that spirit of collaboration to make this all happen.
"I feel that this event today is not reenacting history. It's making history,” living historian John McNulty said.
The trail is now about 4,900 miles long and gives visitors all sorts of options for adventures along the routes of Lewis and Clark. You can pick activities that follow their route to the West Coast and their one on the way back.
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