Lewis and Clark near St. Joseph, Missouri

Photo: Missouri State Parks

The St. Joseph, Missouri area boasts a past sprinkled with fur traders, Native peoples, pioneers, successful merchants, notorious outlaws, and the legendary Pony Express. But with its proximity to the Missouri River, it’s also home to the Lewis and Clark story.

The men of the Corps reached today’s Buchanan County on July 4, 1804. That afternoon they passed the mouth of a small bayou which opened into a lake. Captain Clark wrote in his journal, “Saw great numbers of Goslings to day which Were nearly grown, the before mentioned Lake is clear and Contain great quantities of fish an Gees & Goslings, The great quantity of those fowl in this Lake induce me to Call it the Gosling Lake…” Today, visitors can camp at this lake, known as Lewis and Clark Lake, within Lewis and Clark State Park, about 20 miles south of the city. It’s great for fishing, boating, swimming or wildlife watching.

On their return trip in 1806, the men camped on St. Michael’s Prairie, the name given to the area around today’s St. Joseph, found on earlier traders’ maps. Here they met Robert McClellan who was taking a trading party upriver. He updated the Corps on what had been happening in the United States since they left two years earlier and that they people of the country “were beginning to be uneasy about us,” as Patrick Gass wrote in his journal.

Lewis and Clark NHT Visitor Centers and Museums

This map shows a range of features associated with the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail, which commemorates the 1803-1806 Lewis and Clark Expedition. The trail spans a large portion of the North American continent, from the Ohio River in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to the mouth of the Columbia River in Oregon. The trail is comprised of the historic route of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, an auto tour route, high potential historic sites (shown in black), visitor centers (shown in orange), and pivotal places (shown in green). These features can be selected on the map to reveal additional information. Also shown is a base map displaying state boundaries, cities, rivers, and highways. The map conveys how a significant area of the North American continent was traversed by the Lewis and Clark Expedition and indicates the many places where visitors can learn about their journey and experience the landscape through which they traveled.