Lewis & Clark Visitors Center Hartford, Illinois Courtesy: David Blanchette

Brad Winn with David Blanchette

The Lewis and Clark State Historic Site Visitors Center in Hartford, Illinois connects visitors with the first part of the Lewis and Clark story - the "Point of Departure." The exhibits emphasize the Corps of Discovery's preparations at Camp River Dubois from December 1803 to May 1804 and connects those preparations to the epic journey to the West.

Visitors are welcomed by architecture and exhibits that stress the convergence of rivers, people, and events. The west side of the building rises dramatically toward the west and is shaped like the bow of a boat. A full-size reproduction of a keelboat used by the expedition also points to the west.

Visitors start in the entrance lobby by picking up their own journals to document their visit. A large globe emphasizes international trade routes and the reliance of nineteenth-century Europeans and Americans on water for trade, travel, and communication. A map highlights the extent of nineteenth-century Euro-American knowledge of the West.

The "Visions" exhibit gallery presents differing views of America and the West. President Thomas Jefferson's plans and dreams for the West are compared with those of his British, French and Spanish rivals; these are also contrasted with Native American viewpoints. Visitors can see what people speculated about Western geography, plants, and animals. They can also learn how Lewis and Clark gathered information about the West from traders, soldiers, and civic leaders.

The Convergence Theater provides a twelve-minute, high-definition video orientation presentation entitled "At Journey's Edge," which uses high-impact visuals projected onto the theater wall. The presentation also uses full-range surround sound and special lighting

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to connect visitors to the momentous convergence of people, place, and ideas that occurred at Camp River Dubois in preparation for the expedition. Links between camp preparations and later events in the journey are explored through an engaging story line that includes brief but dramatic "flash forward" scenes.

After exiting the theater, visitors enter "Bound for the Westward," which takes a broad view of the journey and draws links between the preparations at Camp River Dubois and experiences along the trail. A full-size keel-boat, framed by a wall mural of the riverbank, points dramatically westward. At fifty-five-feet long the boat is the most impressive exhibit in the visitor center, with its mast reaching more than thirty feet high. It was handmade of authentic materials, and looks as though it is just minutes away from beginning the journey. From one side visitors can see the exterior of the boat, but the other side is cut away to show the interior and how provisions for the expedition were stored, an important consideration on a journey of unknown length into uncharted territory.

Objects surrounding the boat emphasize preparations underway at Camp River Dubois. Firearms, peace medals, trade goods, black-smithing and carpentry tools, medicine, food, and mapping equipment are prepared and loaded at the camp for the journey. Camp life and visits from local residents show the daily activities of corps members. Many quotes from letters, journals, and field notes lend the primary perspectives of the corps. Ambient sound enlivens the space by suggesting seasonal changes and daily rhythms

"An Epic Journey" features an audio reading of the Lewis and Clark journals and reproductions of the flora and fauna drawings the men made in their journals, as well as mounted samples of several of the "new" species they encountered. Clark's estimates of the time the journey would take, made while at Camp River Dubois, are compared with the actual time the journey took.

"Rediscovering the Corps" examines the outcome of the expedition and challenges visitors to question the myths and meanings associated with the Lewis and Clark expedition. Images emphasize the transformation of the West following the journey: Native American conquest, railroads, cattle drives, dams, wheat combines, cities, and highways.

Visitors may also find out what happened to corps members after the expedition, learn how popular culture has depicted the journey, and contribute their own perspectives.

The new interpretive center is open Wednesday through Sunday from 9 a. m. to 5 p. m. Groups interested in scheduling a visit should contact the Greater Alton Twin Rivers Convention and Visitor's Bureau at 618-465-6676. Beginning in the fall of 2003, educational trunks will be made available through the historic site and local library system. Teachers wishing to get more information about these resources or to reserve a trunk should contact Brad Winn or Cindy Upchurch at 618-251-5811.

" Point of Departure"
"visions"
" At Journey's Edge"
"An Epic Journey"
"Rediscovering the Corps"

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