In the late 1970s, when the Historic District of St. Charles was being restored, the Journals of Lewis & Clark revealed that St. Charles was the location for the final preparations for the Expedition. During the first annual Lewis & Clark Heritage Days a play depicting the Discovery Corps’ final preparations in St. Charles was performed on a stage built to look like a keelboat. Glen Bishop, a St. Charles native, decided that a “real” keelboat was needed and began building one. After a few decades, great toil, and a fire that destroyed the first keelboat, the present-day, full-scale replica was complete (and is on-view in the workshop area of the Boat House’s first floor).

In 1985, realizing the significance of Lewis & Clark to St. Charles, Missouri, Mimi and Darold Jackson opened the Lewis & Clark Center, an educational museum telling the story of the Lewis & Clark Expedition. Their involvement in the Lewis & Clark Trail Heritage Foundation and connection to the National Park Service led to the 1989 certification of St. Charles as an official site on the Lewis & Clark National Historic Trail. The museum rapidly thrived as a historic and educational destination for visitors, tours groups and hundreds of school classes.

In the 1990a, with the 200th Anniversary of the Lewis & Clark Expedition drawing near, the idea of recreating the Expedition using Glen’s Keelboat took shape. The Lewis & Clark Discovery Expedition of St. Charles, Missouri was established and membership started to grow. The construction of the two replica pirogues soon followed as did outfitting the re-enactment crew with authentic uniforms/clothing and training in military procedures.

In response to the overwhelming reception of the Lewis & Clark Discovery Expedition and the success of the Lewis & Clark Center, the two non-profit organizations agreed to combine and build a new facility to house both the museum and the boats. Plans and fundraising for the construction of the current facility began in 2001 and was dedicated in May, 2003.

More than two decades after the Expedition Bicentennial, the Museum, Boat House and Discovery Corps continue to be a nationally-recognized historic destination and instrumental living history organization promoting the legacy of Lewis & Clark.

Our Mission

The Lewis & Clark Boat House, Museum and Discovery Expedition of St. Charles will provide genuine living history and museum experiences that promote education and the study of our national heritage during the period surrounding the historic Lewis & Clark Expedition of 1803-1806. The organization shall strive to educate all people who visit the Boat House and Museum or any of the organization’s historical encampments on the challenges faced by the Corps of Discovery, their recordings of new floral and fauna, their encounters with the many indigenous people, and the story of the organization’s Bicentennial re-enactment.