FUN WITH MAPS ISSUE 2024-091

By Steve Kovacs (Introduction by Chuck Gibson)

LOVELAND, OH (May 14, 2024) – In this edition of Fun with Maps we go on a journey with Lewis & Clark – famous explorers.

Go West Young Man!

What did we just buy?  That, or something similar went through President Thomas Jefferson’s mind after completing the deal with France for a very large parcel of land (530 million acres), the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. 

Everyone was familiar with the lower portion of the Purchase along the Mississippi River down to New Orleans, but not the vast northern portion.

So, Jefferson commissioned an expedition to find out just what is out there.  Under the command of Captain Lewis and second in command Lieutenant Clark 50 men set off from Camp Dubois in Illinois on May 14, 1804.  

They traveled whenever possible on rivers, and reached the Pacific Ocean, not in the Purchase, in November 1805, where they spent the winter.  The return journey was a bit faster, returning to base camp in September 1806.

What they accomplished in this mission is simply remarkable.   They have made contact and friends with a series indigenous tribes.  They mapped the region, its geography, identified travel paths to the west which avoided the southern routes controlled by the pesky Mexicans, they documented flora and fauna and geology of the region.  They only lost one soul, early on.

Here is Mitchell’s 1850 map of the US West, showing very large Oregon, Utah and New Mexico Territories, plus California.  The map also shows the routes of Lewis and Clark.

Steve Kovacs and his wife Theresa reside in Loveland, Ohio where they raised their two children. He is a passionate collector of antique maps.

Visit his antique map boutique world-on-paper online. Watch for his daily feature Steve Kovacs: Fun with Maps here on Loveland Beacon.