Lewis & Clark Campsite - Elk Point, SD
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MNSearchers
N 42° 41.014 W 096° 41.548
14T E 689049 N 4728258
The Missouri River has carved many channels in its history.
Waymark Code: WMJ3X
Location: South Dakota, United States
Date Posted: 07/24/2006
Views: 29
On August 22, 1804, Captain William Clark reported in his journal that the Missouri River "bends to the East and is within 3 or 4 miles of the River Soues (Big Sioux River)". Clark noted a "Great deel of Elk Sign" and reported making camp shortly after reaching "a tree in the prairie on the starboard side past a point of sand on the starboard side".
In 1937 Edward Elliott Collins (then 77 years old) recounted Lewis and Clark's journey through this area in his historical thesis of Union County, which he submitted to the University of SD. Collins grew up hearing the oral histories of Elk Point from people like his uncle Eli Wixson, Elk Point's founder.
Collins wrote that Lewis and Clark made camp that night by the lone tree on a point of land on the river's north bank. The description places the campsite here in Heritage Park.
Marker Name: Lewis & Clark Campsite
Marker Type: City
Marker Text: Not listed
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