Meriwether Lewis (1774-1809)
Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania
Marker Inscription
With William Clark he led the transcontinental Lewis & Clark Expedition, 1803-1806. Lewis prepared for the journey & later deposited its significant specimens, journals, and other artifacts here in Philadelphia.
Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Story
With William Clark, Meriwether Lewis led the transcontinental expedition of 1803–1806 that opened the newly purchased Louisiana Territory to American knowledge. Philadelphia, then the young nation's scientific capital, was where Lewis prepared for the journey and where he later deposited many of its precious specimens, journals, and artifacts. The city's naturalists and institutions helped translate the expedition's discoveries into lasting science.
Why it matters
The Lewis and Clark Expedition mapped a path across the continent and fired the American imagination about the West, with Philadelphia as its intellectual home base.
Plan your visit
NearbyMake a day of it — museums, food, and places to stay near this marker.
Museums & culture
- African American Museum in Philadelphia1.1 mi away · 701 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Bridgette Mayer1.1 mi away · 709 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
- National Constitution Center1.2 mi away · 525 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Independence Visitor Center1.2 mi away · 599 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Liberty Bell Center1.2 mi away · 526 Market Street, Philadelphia
- Congress Hall1.2 mi away · Philadelphia, PA
Attractions
- The Universal Sphere0.2 mi away
- One Liberty Observation Deck0.4 mi away
- Reading Terminal0.7 mi away
- Rocky Steps0.7 mi away
- Chinatown Friendship Gate0.8 mi away · 10th and Arch Street
- Philly Gun Range1.0 mi away · North Percy Street
Food & drink
- Burger King1.0 mi away
- Philly Pretzel Factory1.1 mi away
- Munchie’s Cafe1.1 mi away · 728 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
- El Azteca1.1 mi away
- Dunkin'1.1 mi away · 634 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Park’s Salad Bar1.1 mi away
Places to stay
- Residence Inn Philadelphia Center City0.6 mi away · 1 East Penn Square, Philadelphia, PA
- The Notary Hotel0.6 mi away · 21 North Juniper Street, Philadelphia
- Days Inn Philadelphia Convention Center - Philadelphia0.6 mi away · 1227 Race Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Four Points by Sheraton Philadelphia City Center0.6 mi away · 1201 Race Street, Philadelphia
- Home2 Suites by Hilton Philadelphia - Convention Center, PA0.6 mi away · 1200 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Philadelphia Marriott Downtown0.6 mi away · 1201 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA
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Related people
- · Meriwether Lewis
- · William Clark
Related events
- · Lewis and Clark Expedition
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Robert Patterson (1743-1824)
Philadelphia, PA · est. 2004
Robert Patterson chaired mathematics and served as vice-provost at the University of Pennsylvania in the early 1800s, a respected man of science in the young republic. In 1803 he tutored Meriwether Lewis in the celestial navigation and surveying skills the explorer would need to chart the unknown West. From this home Patterson helped equip the Lewis and Clark Expedition with the mathematical tools of discovery.
Benjamin Smith Barton (1766-1815)
Philadelphia, PA · est. 2004
Benjamin Smith Barton was among early America's foremost men of science, a physician and University of Pennsylvania professor who wrote the first botany textbook published in the United States. In 1803, at the request of the expedition's planners, he tutored Meriwether Lewis in natural history to prepare him to observe and record the plants, animals, and peoples of the West. From this Philadelphia home he stood at the crossroads of American medicine, natural science, and continental exploration.
Caspar Wistar (1761-1818)
Philadelphia, PA · est. 2000
Caspar Wistar, one of early America's most respected physicians, lived here while serving as professor of anatomy at the University of Pennsylvania and president of both the American Philosophical Society and the Pennsylvania Abolition Society. In 1803, at Thomas Jefferson's behest, he tutored Meriwether Lewis in medicine and paleontology to prepare him for the Corps of Discovery's journey west. Wistar moved easily among the scientific, medical, and reform circles of the young republic.
Schuylkill Arsenal
Philadelphia, PA · est. 2004
The Schuylkill Arsenal, built in the early 1800s, was where Meriwether Lewis gathered and stored the supplies he purchased in Philadelphia before shipping them west to Pittsburgh for the start of his great expedition. For more than a century afterward the arsenal outfitted American soldiers, supplying military goods through the Civil War and both World Wars. It stood until 1963, when it was finally razed.