Lewis & Clark in Kentucky: Clark & Allsbury
Hopkinsville, Christian County, Kentucky
Marker Inscription
Lewis & Clark in Kentucky. WILLIAM CLARK William Clark, coleader of the Lewis & Clark Expedition, and his family stopped at Allsbury’s Tavern in Hopkinsville on Oct. 2, 1809. In 1807 Clark was appointed militia brigadier general and chief Indian agent for the Louisiana Territory. Over. THOMAS ALLSBURY Thomas Allsbury was an early tavern keeper in Hopkinsville. In the War of 1812 he organized a company and served as a captain in the First Regiment of Kentucky Mounted Militia. Over. *Sponsored by Ohio River Chapter-Lewis & Clark Trail Heritage Fdn.; Christian Co. Fiscal Court; Col. John Green Chapter, D.A.R.; John Manire Chapter, S.A.R.; Pennyroyal Area Museum; Hopkinsville/Christian Co. Hist. Soc.; Christian Co. Gen. Soc.; Natl. Park Service, Ky. Lewis & Clark Bicentennial Com.
Erected by Kentucky Historical Society
The Story
As the Lewis and Clark Expedition made its way west and back, its leaders repeatedly passed through Kentucky's river country. William Clark—by 1807 a militia brigadier general and chief Indian agent for the Louisiana Territory—stopped with his family at Allsbury's Tavern in Hopkinsville in 1809. The tavern's keeper, Thomas Allsbury, was himself an early Hopkinsville figure who raised a company and served as a captain in the First Regiment of Kentucky Mounted Militia during the War of 1812.
Why it matters
The marker links the westward push of the Corps of Discovery to the frontier institutions—taverns, militias, and Indian agencies—through which the young republic organized its expanding borderlands.
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Related people
- · William Clark
- · Thomas Allsbury
Related events
- · War of 1812
Themes & tags
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