At one level the title of this piece is absurd. Of course, there was no “Kansas City” during the lifetimes of either Meriwether Lewis [1774-1809] or the longer-lived William Clark [1770-1838]. However, they did both pass through this place in 1804 and again in 1806.

On the second occasion, they climbed a hill here, part of which still exists. William Clark even noted in his journal [Lewis, suffering from a gunshot wound, was not journaling at the time] that the hill overlooking the confluence of the Kansas and Missouri Rivers would be a fine spot for a fort.

To commemorate that second stop on the south bank of the Missouri River just below the junction with the Kansas, a magnificent statue has been placed in the midst of a part that crowns what remains of that hill. One has to understand that Lewis and Clark stopped there before the construction of residential streets for Quality Hill in the late 19th century and of Interstate highways in the mid-20th. Thus the circle around the statue at 8th & Jefferson is only approximately at the site where the two intrepid explorers stood.

As can be seen, however, the statue includes more figures than the visionary Lewis and the more practical Clark. Also depicted are Clark’s slave York, the young Sacagawea [with baby Jean Baptiste on her back], and even Lewis’s dog, the Newfoundland Seaman. It makes a very nice picture on a bright sunshiny day.

Unfortunately, the various figures standing embronzed today never were at that location at the same time. It’s true that Lewis and Clark both stood there. It’s possible that York stood with them because he was certainly there by all accounts. It’s even possible that they were joined by Seaman although the journals don’t mention Seaman after the expedition leaves the upper reaches of the Missouri River.

On the other hand, Sacagawea definitely did not stand at that spot at the same time as the other participants. She signed onto the expedition with her husband Charbonneau at the Mandan Villages in present South Dakota during the winter of 1804-05. She guided and accompanied the expedition all the way to the Pacific and back to the Mandans by summer of 1806. At that location, however, she, her son and husband all debarked and remained well upstream from the Kansas City region.

Before leaving Sacagawea and her family with the Mandans, Clark offered to educate her young son and any future children in St. Louis where he already planned to establish himself in business and possibly government service [both efforts proved fruitful for him]. Indirect evidence indicates that in 1811, Sacagawea did in fact pass this spot on her way to deliver her son to Clark for just what he offered [and delivered] in St. Louis. By that time she and Charbonneau were also accompanied by their second child, Lisette.

The most reliable evidence is that Sacagawea did not survive long after returning to the upper sections of the Missouri River valley in 1812. Clark assumed responsibility for both Jean Baptiste and Lisette. Unfortunately, the girl died while a student with nuns in a Catholic seminary in St. Louis. Jean Baptiste went on to a significant career as a guide and companion to travelers and explorers along the upper Missouri. One expects that both Sacagawea and her French husband Charbonneau would have been proud.
One other significant Lewis and Clark site in Kansas City has been improved and made accessible in the past few years. On the Kansas side on the north bank of the confluence of the Kansas and Missouri Rivers, Kansas City, Kansas, has established Kaw Point Park. This commemorates the three days that the expedition spent at the confluence on their way upriver in 1804. Unfortunately, when the intrepid explorers were there, the point was further north some distance because the Kansas [or Kaw] River emptied into the Missouri upstream from its current mouth. The change came as a result of the huge 1826 flood.

Thus we are most fortunate to have two highly significant Lewis and Clark sites in the central section of regional Kansas City. The pictured statue stands at 8th & Jefferson on the Missouri side while the wonderful new park is accessible off the Lewis and Clark Viaduct [I-70] using the Fairfax exit and then turning right at the first intersection following the exit. I invite you to enjoy both sites in the coming Spring days.

Dr. Bill Worley, Instructor in History, MCC-Blue River