Museum: Meriwether Lewis at Harpers Ferry

Museum: Meriwether Lewis at Harpers Ferry

NPS / Claire Hassler

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Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits, Wheelchair Accessible

Learn about the role that Harpers Ferry played in the Lewis and Clark expedition (1803-1806). This exhibit space focuses on Meriwether Lewis' time in Harpers Ferry. 

In mid-March of 1803, about two weeks after Congress authorized the expedition, the twenty-eight-year-old Lewis departed Washington for the recently opened United States Armory and Arsenal at Harpers Ferry to acquire supplies. Lewis relied on the armory and its skilled craftsmen to supply “arms and accoutrements” that would meet the unique requirements of the transcontinental expedition. The armory provided 15 rifles, 15 powder horns, 30 bullet molds, 30 ball screws, extra rifle and musket locks, gunsmith's repair tools, several dozen tomahawks, and 24 large knives.

Lewis also worked with armory engineers to develop a collapsible iron-framed boat that could be transported over land when necessary. He dubbed it “The Experiment”. This strange craft was comprised of an iron frame that came apart in sections, over which was stretched a covering of animal hide. Lewis planned to use the craft following the portage around the Great Falls of the Missouri River, when the river got too shallow for heavy wooden boats to navigate.