The Lewis and Clark State Historic Site opened in 2002 and is owned and operated by the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency

Illinois Historic Preservation Agency

The Illinois Historic Preservation Agency is a governmental agency of the U.S. state of Illinois. It is tasked with the duty of maintaining most State-owned historic sites within Illinois, and maximizing their educational and recreational value to visitors....

. The site, located in Hartford, Illinois

Hartford, Illinois

Hartford is a village in Madison County, Illinois, near the mouth of the Missouri River. The population was 1,545 at the 2000 census. Lewis and Clark spent the winter of 1803-1804 here, near what has been designated the Lewis and Clark State Historic Site....

, commemorates Camp River Dubois

Camp Dubois

Camp Dubois, near present day Hartford, Illinois, served as the winter camp for the Lewis and Clark Expedition from December 12, 1803, to May 14, 1804.It was located on the east side of the Mississippi River so that it was still in United States territory...

, the camp of the Lewis and Clark Expedition

Lewis and Clark Expedition

The Lewis and Clark Expedition, or ″Corps of Discovery Expedition" was the first transcontinental expedition to the Pacific Coast by the United States. Commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson and led by two Virginia-born veterans of Indian wars in the Ohio Valley, Meriwether Lewis and William...

 from December 1803 to May 1804. The site is National Trail Site #1 on the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail

Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail

The Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail is a route across the United States commemorating the Lewis and Clark Expedition of 1804 to 1806. It is part of the National Trails System of the United States...

 and is located directly off the Confluence Bike Trail, part of the Confluence Greenway

Confluence Greenway

The Confluence Greenway is a system of parks, conservation and recreation areas located in the St. Louis, Missouri metropolitan area. Various parks, trails, and attractions are located along forty miles of both the Missouri and Illinois banks of the Mississippi River and Missouri River.Points of...

. The site is at the southern end of the Meeting of the Great Rivers Scenic Route

Meeting of the Great Rivers Scenic Route

The Meeting of the Great Rivers Scenic Route extends for in southwestern Illinois, traveling through the floodplain of the Mississippi, Missouri and Illinois rivers. The route has been officially designated as a National Scenic Byway by the Federal Highway Administration...

.

The Lewis and Clark State Historic Site is situated on the dry side of the Chain of Rocks Levee, approximately 1/4 mile from the Illinois

Illinois

Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...

 shore of the Mississippi River

Mississippi River

The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...

. The site replaced Lewis and Clark State Park, which is no longer in existence.

Main attractions at the site include a 14000 square feet (1,300.6 m²) interpretive center and an outdoor replica of Camp River Dubois. The state-of-the-art interpretive center contains a theater, multiple "hands on" exhibits and displays, and a 55 feet (16.8 m) full-scale cutaway keelboat.

External links

• Lewis and Clark State Historic Site -- Official Website