Uncovering the Expedition
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Volcanoguy
N 46° 45.162 W 114° 05.381
11T E 722271 N 5181796
State Park sign at Traveler’s Rest State Park, west of Lolo, Montana.
Waymark Code: WMFHQJ
Location: Montana, United States
Date Posted: 10/22/2012
Views: 1
Interpretive sign along trail at Traveler’s Rest State Park near Lolo, Montana. Sign deals with the archaeological work done to discover the Lewis & Clark campsite.
Text of Sign:
Lewis & Clark at Travelers’ Rest
For may years, the campsite known as Travelers’ Rest was thought to be located at the confluence of today’s Lolo Creek and the Bitterroot River (1.5 miles east of where you now stand). It wasn’t until 1996 that members of the Travelers’ Rest Chapter of the Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation began to suspect the campsite was more likely in this immediate area.
Focusing his research on the area just south of Lolo Creek, historical archaeologist Da Hall employed remote sensing equipment like metal detectors and magnetometers to identify several places where the magnetic properties of the soil had been altered. The archaeological team excavated these “anomalies” in the summer of 2002 and found evidence of the Lewis and Clark Expedition’s cookfire and latrine.
When the soil from the latrine was analyzed, it revealed mercury vapor, residue from Dr. Rush’s Thunderbolts, a powerful purgative that was commonly prescribed to ailing members of the expedition. The physical evidence discovered here is accepted as proof that this is the location of the Corps of Discovery’s campsite. Based on these findings, the National Park Service moved the boundaries of the Travelers’ Rest National Historic Landmark to this site in 2006.
Describe the area and history:
The sign is located near the visitor center along the trail to the Lewis & Clark campsite which was used by the expedition from September 9–11, 1805 on the way west and again on the return trip from June 30–July 3, 1806.
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