Statues

Beautiful architecture blends with memories of a time gone by at the historic Durham Museum. Opened in 1931, Union Station was built by Union Pacific Railroad as the showpiece to the city of its headquarters. Considered one of Omaha’s most unique treasures, and an official National Historic Landmark, the station is one of the best examples of art deco architecture in the country.

Pierre, now the capital of the state of South Dakota, has significant connections to the Corps of Discovery. The expedition’s first introduction to the region was on the evening of Monday, September 24, 1804 when Lewis, Clark and their entourage of forty three men and three boats anchored across the river from Pierre, in what is now Fischers Lilly Park in Fort Pierre.

Sacagawea, a young Shoshone Indian guide traveling with the Lewis and Clark Expedition in 1805, recognized this rock formation and knew that she may be in the vicinity of her relatives. The sighting gave the expedition hope that they may be able to find native peoples from which to acquire horses for their trip across the mountains to the Pacific Ocean.

Near the old Cannon Beach Elementary School in Cannon Beach, Oregon, lies Necus’ Park. This small public park was once the site of a prosperous native village, known as NeCus’ to the local tribes, prior to colonization.

Installed in 1990, the bronze End of the Trail statue commemorating Captains Meriwether Lewis and William Clark 4,000-mile, 18-month journey was created by Stanley Wanlass. It stands at the Turnaround in Seaside, Oregon, where Broadway Street ends at the historic Seaside Promenade, a 1.5-mile stretch of paved walkway along the Pacific Ocean that was built in 1920.

At the northern terminus of the North Head Discovery Trail in Long Beach, Washington, there stands a 20-foot-tall bronze statue known as “Clark’s Tree.” Created by Stanley Wanlass in 2009, the sculpture commemorates the location where, on November 19, 1805, William Clark carved his name into a living tree, thus establishing a precedence of discovery for the young United States. The site is a few miles from the location of Station Camp.

Located in Astoria, Oregon, the Astoria Column serves as a monument to the history Pacific Northwest. The idea for the column first came about in 1898 when the city thought to build an electrified tower that would rival the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France. In 1914, the project began to take its first tentative steps toward becoming a reality when the City of Astoria bought 30 acres of land on Coxcomb Hill.

Two cedar logs topped with crossed canoe paddles with a cast-glass sculpture of a Chinook woman’s face greet visitors to the Land Bridge, a historic tribal crossroads and a historic point of contact between European and Native people on the Columbia River. The Welcome Gate by artist Lillian Pitt represents how Chinook people welcomed someone arriving by canoe and serves as a fitting entry to the Vancouver Land Bridge.

Visit the Missouri State Capitol and nearby environs to experience the Lewis & Clark Trail. You can start your visit at the Missouri State Capitol. First, examine the Capitol grounds. Just a half-block east of the Capitol, you can visit the Lewis and Clark KATY Trailhead Plaza. The plaza features statues of Meriwether Lewis, William Clark, York, George Druillard, and Lewis’ dog Seaman. The plaza commemorates June 4, 1804, when the expedition camped in the area.

Erected and subsequently dedicated in the fall of 2003, the bronze sculpture of York, the African American man who accompanied famed explorers Lewis and Clark on their 1803 expedition of the west, is the work of nationally-renowned artist and sculptor Ed Hamilton. The 8 foot sculpture was commissioned by the city of Louisville in commemoration of the 200th anniversary of Lewis and Clark’s historical trip.