Lewis & Clark State Historic Site and Lewis & Clark Confluence Tower

One Lewis and Clark Trail
Hartford, IL  62048
618-251-5854
Admission and parking are free at historic site.
www.campriverdubois.com
Opened in 2000. 

435 Confluence Tower Dr
Hartford, IL 62048
(618) 251-9101
Admission is $6 ($5 for Seniors) and parking is free.
http://www.confluencetower.com/
Opened in 2010.  

This Illinois state historic site was built in time to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Lewis & Clark expedition. It is at this location that the corps camped out for five months in 1804 and trained and prepared for the journey ahead. The museum opened in 2000.

This section of the building represents a boat, the means of travel for the expedition. 

It is not surprising that when you enter the museum you are greeted by a statue of the two leaders and their dog. 

Before visiting the galleries, we chose to first watch the 15-minute film, "At Journey's Edge" to learn more about Camp River DuBois. 

There are 6 galleries full of large paintings and displays including this first one about the history of the era.  

This is a display about earlier explorers and some theories about a northwest passage.

This is a large map showing how they traveled down the Ohio River to get to Camp DuBois. 

Large map showing the Native American tribes in 1803. 

Wall painting depicting Lewis and Clark before leaving on expedition talking to Osage leaders hoping to prevent bloodshed. 

A display about the tasks necessary to organize the corps. 

One of several explanatory signs. 

Gallery 4 - Epic Journey: Engage in the adventure of Lewis and Clark

The journey back to Camp DuBois. 

One of the most impressive displays in the museum is the life-size keelboat.   

On the back side of the boat, the boat is open so as to display what the inside of the boat contained. 

The boat is surrounded by items they would have taken such as these prepackaged gifts for Native American chiefs and tribes. 

The two-year trip required lots of supplies. 

The beads were for trading with the Native Americans. 

This is one of a few artifact/replicas in the museum.  Captain Lewis carried a weapon like this one. 

This is a life-size example of a fatigue uniform - an everyday uniform. 

And examples of period hats. 

There are many fun facts on display. 

The museum has a number of interactive displays including a couple of selfie spots.

In this activity one must be careful loading the boat so that the boat does not sink. 

Here one can feel beaver and otter furs. 

Flip the pages to redress the man to match different positions in the Corps. 

Lift the lids!

This activity for children allows them to make a rubbing of a Jefferson Medal. 

One can color or journal at this end display. 

And finally a mini-library for children. 

After visiting the museum we took a 30-minute tour of the replica of the 1803-04 camp. The full-scale replica is based on this drawing by Clark and was built in 2001. 

This chimney is on the captains' dwelling. 

There are four of these smaller buildings for the men. 

Members of the Corps slept in tight bunk-beds similar to these. 

A dugout boat similar to what they would use to travel in the area to bring in supplies. 

Near the fort is the Settler's Cabin that represents a family living in one of the American Bottoms from about 1800-1815. 

This is the only replica building that contains items from that era. Here our tour guide explains life in this cabin. 

This ladder on the ceiling would have been used for the children to climb to the rafters to sleep for the night. 

A beaver tail is among the goodies in the cabin!

The Store of Discovery Gift Shop in the museum building

Down the street from the Historic Site is the Lewis & Clark Confluence Tower. The city of Hartford, wanting to commemorate the expedition, spent 2002-2010 raising funds to build this. 

The two towers rise 180 feet in the air.  One can climb the steps or take an elevator to the top to see where the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers meet. 

In the building in the base there are several displays including this interactive map that highlights all of the significant areas along this section of the Mississippi River. 

There are three levels of the tower with each one having small displays. 

From the top level at 150 feet one can see where the rivers meet.

On a clear day, which we did not have, one can see the St. Louis Arch, also.

The tower property also includes a garden area where one can learn about and see growing plants that the Corps would have used.  

The town of Hartford has one restaurant and it happens to be a five-star eatery! 

We were there on National Taco Day so it was only natural that we tried one of their specialties - $2 fried tacos. Yummy!

Another specialty is their ponyshoe! Under the fries and white cheese sauce is a 4 oz. burger and toast. We split it four ways.

We had a basket each of their fried onion rings, fried mushrooms, and fried pickles! 

We ate all of this food including this home-made apple cobbler a la mode for under $5 each.  

Comments: This is one of several Lewis & Clark sites in the St. Louis area.  It is fairly well done with a variety of displays.  The gallery with the keelboat was my favorite gallery.

I particularly enjoyed the tour of the fort because the tour guide, a staff member, was excellent and very knowledgeable. We arrived shortly after 9:00, saw the 15-minute movie (very good), and then took the 9:30 tour - the tours begin every half-hour.  We had a private tour but the group that followed us at 10:00 appeared to have 15-20 visitors in it. My advice, therefore, would be to come early.  

The museum has a lot of hands-on activities for children though the journal trail they no longer offer to children.

The tower was OK.  On weekdays it does not open until 1:00 so we visited after lunch.  The garden was not in good shape and the help was not very friendly but the view was nice.  This should definitely be done when the weather is clear. 

We had a great time at the restaurant, R. J.'s Place.  The owner sat with us for part of the meal and gave us the desserts for free. She was delightful.  The place is not fancy one bit but the food is excellent.  We would all go back.