Fort Steuben stood on these grounds for only three years. By 1790, it was gone and many people started moving in to settle this new area. America was growing and the number of Americans was growing, too. 

    In 1803 the president of the United States was Thomas Jefferson. He was a man with many talents and interests.  He realized that America would need more land and he had purchased the Louisiana Territory from France. Now he wanted to find and map all the water routes and trails across the continent.  

    Most of the country was wilderness, inhabited by Native American tribes and had not been explored. Jefferson decided to form the Corps of Discovery, a group who would travel across the continent and bring back information about the land, the plants and animals, the rocks and minerals, and the native peoples of this new territory.  The Corps was made up of Captain Meriwether Lewis, Captain William Clark, and about 30 other men who set out in 1803 to reach the Pacific Ocean. Also in the group was Sacagawea, a Native American woman who was very important in helping the men deal with the tribes on the journey. Another important member was named York, Capt. Clark’s slave and the first African American to cross the continent. A unique feature of the Corps was that every member - including Sacagawea and York - had a vote in decisions made as they faced the many obstacles, trials, and difficulties on the journey, making it a true example of democracy in action.
   

    The expedition started in Pittsburgh where Lewis had his boats built and stocked his supplies. He was then to sail down the Ohio to meet Clark at what is now Louisville, Kentucky. The expedition continued on until they reached the Pacific Ocean. They covered 8000 miles there and back. They traveled in boats on the rivers, rode horses, and walked across seemingly endless plains and mountains. They finally returned to the Ohio River in 1806.    

    One of the problems they had traveling down the Ohio was that the river was very shallow. There were areas called riffles – mounds of sand in the river – and their boats often got stuck on them. That happened when they were bringing their supplies from Pittsburgh and passing Steubenville. In order to get the boat free, Lewis had to come into the town and hire some oxen to pull the boat off of the riffles. Lewis kept an extensive journal during their travels and noted their stop in Steubenville on Sept. 6, 1803:

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    The fogg was as thick as usual this morning...detained us until 1/2 past 7 O’C when we set out. Struck on a riffle which we got over with some difficulty and in the distance of two miles and a half passed 4 others, three of which we were obliged to drag over with horses; the man charged me the exorbitant price of 2 dollars for his trouble. 
    Got on pretty well to Stewbenville, which we past at 2 O’C ….struck on a riffle about 2 miles below the town...hoisted our mainsail to assist in driving us over the riffle...the wind blew so hard as to break the sprit of it, and now, my men worn down by perpetual lifting, I was obliged again to have recourse to my usual resort and set out in serch of horses or oxen. Stewbenville...is a small well built thriving place, has several respectable families residing in it, five years since it was a wilderness. 

  The oxen arrived, got off with difficulty, however with their assistance we got over two other riffles which lyed just below; we preceeded about a mile and a half further and encamped on the west bank having made ten miles this day.
 

A USGS Lewis and Clark geodetic marker at Historic Fort Steuben commemorates their adventures here. GPS: 40°21’31” N - 80°36’49” W

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Information and interpretive panels on the famous expedition are on display in the Visitor Center. A new mural by artist Kyle Holbrook capturing the main features of the Corps of Discovery has been created in Steubenville, near the Jefferson County Courthouse.

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As of March 2019, the eastern heritage trail is now part of the entire NPS Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail! If you have a National Park Service Passport Book, you can have it stamped when you visit Fort Steuben.  We are also part of the NPS Junior Ranger Program for youngsters which offers an Activity Book for middle graders and a Coloring Book for younger children based on the Lewis & Clark Expedition.  Learn more about the Trail at Lewis & Clark National Historic Trail (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov)

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The Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation has created a full curriculum for grades 5-9 that is free to download as pdfs here: www.lewisandclark.org/learn/curriculum.php.

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Learn about the Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation

·   Visit our educational website and learn about the explorers' adventures and discoveries: lewis-clark.org

·   Check out our blog: LewisandClarkNews.com

·   And to learn more about the benefits of traveling the trail:

            Lewis and Clark Trail Experience

·   How to join the Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation

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