Fort Massac, Illinois

This 1766 map of the Ohio River shows the confluence of the "Shawnee River" (now the Ohio River)

Quick Facts

Location:

1308 E 5th St, Metropolis, IL 62960

Significance:

Meriwether Lewis and William Clark recruited three members of their expedition, Joseph Whitehouse, George Drouillard, and John Newman, at Fort Massac in 1803.

Designation:

Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail, National Register of Historic Places

MANAGED BY:

Fort Massac State Park

Amenities

22 listed

Benches/Seating, Boat Ramp, Dock/Pier, Electrical Hookup - Boat/RV, Grill, Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits, Information, Parking - Auto, Parking - Boat Trailer, Parking - Bus/RV, Picnic Shelter/Pavilion, Picnic Table, Playground, Restroom, Restroom - Accessible, Restroom - Family, Sewage Dump Station - Boat/RV, Sewer Hookups - Boat/RV, Showers, Tent Campsites, Trailhead, Water - Hookup - Boat/RV

Lewis and Clark NHT Visitor Centers and Museums

Visitor Centers (shown in orange), High Potential Historic Sites (shown in black), and Pivotal Places (shown in green) along the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail

On the journey west to spend the winter at Camp Dubois, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark spent a few days at Fort Massac on the Ohio River. The French built the original fort in 1757, in an area where Chickasaw, Osage, and Shawnee people lived. In 1794, the U.S. military took it over and it became a stopping point for White American settlers moving west.  

Here, Lewis and Clark sought men with a diversity of skills, including hunting and carpentry, to join their expedition. Language skills and cultural knowledge were especially important, since this was a diplomatic mission into Indigenous lands.  

Two key members joined the party at Fort Massac: George Drouillard and Private Joseph Whitehouse. Drouillard, whose father was French-Canadian and mother was Shawnee, was hired as an interpreter. He spoke Shawnee, French, English, and the sign language that was common among Indigenous communities and non-Native traders across North America.  

Whitehouse, who was already enlisted in the U.S. Army, was stationed at Fort Massac. Like many people living in the area, his family moved west to Kentucky during the wave of White settlers displacing Indigenous people. Whitehouse learned valuable skills during his time in the Kentucky woods, including hunting, curing meat, and preparing hides. 

The expedition journals note many times when Whitehouse’s skills as a tailor and skin curer were useful to the crew. During the summer of 1805, Lewis tasked Whitehouse with preparing and sewing together elk skins for construction of his iron-framed boat.  

Whitehouse was one of the only lower-ranking members of the expedition who was tasked with keeping a journal. In it, he often mentioned being asked to repair or make new clothing for the party. In Idaho, for example, he made caps from otter skins procured through trade.

Both Drouillard and Whitehouse brought skills critical to the Lewis and Clark Expedition. 

About this article: This article is part of a series called “Pivotal Places: Stories from the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail.”