Construction of Lewis and Clark exhibit begins at Friendship Hill
Crews began work Wednesday at Friendship Hill National Historic Site in Springhill Township to erect a special exhibit on the Lewis and Clark Expedition that’s touring the country as the nation celebrates the bicentennial of this famous journey into the American West. Called “Corps of Discovery II: 200 Years to the Future,” the exhibit consists of three tents and is being set up in the parking lot at Friendship Hill because of its size. It will open Friday and continue daily through July 11. The public can enter the exhibit from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, with National Park Service staff providing shows every hour on the hour from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. There is no admission charge.
“We’re doing this to help commemorate the bicentennial and to connect people back to history but encourage them to think of the future,” said Carol McBryant of the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail, who is assigned to Corps of Discovery II.
The National Park Service created the exhibit in conjunction with other agencies as a way to tell the story of Lewis and Clark during this bicentennial. The Corps of Discovery II began its own journey in January at Monticello, Thomas Jefferson’s home in Virginia.
“That’s where he wrote a secret memo to Congress, asking for funds to support the expedition,’ explained McBryant.
The exhibit, which already has been seen by 50,000 people, will tour 29 cities this year around the eastern states and continue westward in the next three years. The tour will end in October 2006 in St. Louis, where Lewis and Clark completed their journey.
“It’s pretty exciting being in the East,’ said McBryant, “and be able to see the communities where Lewis and Clark passed through. A lot of our history seems to focus on the westward movement. We tend to forget that it took an entire year to prepare.’
Corps of Discovery II is visiting Friendship Hill because it is the home Albert Gallatin, who was secretary of the Treasury under President Jefferson and had connections to the expedition.
“Albert Gallatin was very much involved,” said Brian Reedy, a National Park Service ranger assigned to Friendship Hill and Fort Necessity National Battlefield in Farmington. “He arranged financing for the expedition and the Louisiana Purchase. He helped in the planning. Jefferson asked his Cabinet members to come up with a list of objectives. Gallatin wrote a detailed letter, primarily on the American Indians, and asked them to make sure the rivers were navigable for commerce.’
Gallatin also provided maps for the expedition, Reedy noted.
Another local connection is that corps member Patrick Gass had Fayette County connections.
Reedy also explained that Gass (1771-1870) was born in Chambersburg but later moved with his family to the Uniontown area. Gass enlisted in the Army, and as a member of the Army, Gass joined the Lewis and Clark Expedition on Jan. 1, 1804. His journal of the expedition was the first one published in Pittsburgh in 1807.
Gass served during the War of 1812, losing an eye in an accident, and was discharged. He married at age 59, had seven children, settled in Wellsburg, W.Va., and died in 1870.
“He was the last known survivor of the expedition,’ said Reedy. “He lived long enough to see the transcontinental railroad.’
The Corps of Discovery II exhibit is composed of three tents, said McBryant: “There’s an entrance tent for general information, a walk-through exhibit and a tent for performances and multi-media.”
The Tent of Many Voices is the performance tent and will include a 30-minute video that shows segments of the Ken Burns’ film “Lewis and Clark: The Journey of the Corps of Discovery,’ as well as a local video called “The Eastern Legacy of Lewis and Clark.’
The Eastern Legacy is an organization that is promoting the early beginnings of the expedition. In addition to the video, the organization has created a brochure that details the expedition and eastern sites.
Another brochure called “Prologue to a Legend” notes regional celebrations that commemorate the bicentennial.
Pittsburgh will re-enact the launching of the expedition from Point State Park on Aug. 31, 200 years to the day that Meriwether Lewis left the city.
Meanwhile, Scott Mandrell will visit Fayette County on Friday, July 11, as part of a historical re-enactment of the trip. Mandrell will portray Lewis as he rides through Fayette County on his way to Pittsburgh. He will ride through the area on horseback, arriving at Fort Necessity National Battlefield to give a program at 3 p.m. July 11. He will leave the park the next day and ride the National Road (Route 40) to Brownsville.
McBryant said that visitors who plan to tour “Corps of Discovery II’ should allow an hour to an hour-and-a-half for the tour.
Friendship Hill National Historic Site is located on Route 166, between Point Marion and New Geneva. For more information, phone the national park at 724-725-9190.