Tales of the Old West cannot be told without talking of Lewis and Clark, whose famed expedition began in 1804 when President Thomas Jefferson tasked Meriwether Lewis with exploring the untamed and rugged lands west of the Mississippi River recently acquired through the Louisiana Purchase. Lewis chose William Clark as his co-leader for the mission. The crew departed from St. Louis headed west, confronting harsh weather, unforgiving terrain, treacherous waters, injuries, starvation, disease and both friendly and hostile Native Americans along the 8,000 mile journey which cut right across present-day Montana.

President Jefferson was thrilled with the success of the expedition, which provided new geographic, ecological, and cultural information about previously uncharted areas of North America, not to mention the southern areas of the Missouri River. On their return trek across the Louisiana Purchase back to St. Louis, Captain Lewis added a bit of a detour in the name of exploration. Along with Reuben Fields, Joseph Fields, and George Droulliard, they traveled up the Marias River, investigating significant flora, fauna, and possible resources for the newly purchased land, including northern tributaries of the Missouri River.

Imagine Captain Meriwether Lewis standing here, taking in the panoramic view of the Sweetgrass Hills, the Bears Paw Mountains, Square Butte, the Highwood Mountains, portions of the Belt Mountains, the Rocky Mountain Front, and the Marias River below. Maybe the sky was filled with wispy clouds, the hot summer sun creating shadows on the hills, and the breeze rustling the tall prairie grass, or maybe it was a cool summer morning, with rain on the horizon. What was he thinking as he stood looking north?

Little did he know, over two centuries later, a picnic shelter would stand memorializing his trip up the Marias’ River. The Lewis and Clark Overlook was a combined effort of the Marias Chapter of the Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation, Northcentral Montana Bicentennial Commission, Liberty County, and the Bureau of Reclamation. The Lewis and Clark expedition opened the door to the American West and is inextricably linked to the history of Montana.