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Residents of the Tri-State Area will have an opportunity to appreciate an important part of our nation's history from a different perspective beginning this week.
A national traveling free exhibit, "Reimagining America: The Maps of Lewis and Clark," opens Monday at the Visitors Center at Historic Fort Steuben, is scheduled to run through March 4. Steubenville will be the only place in Ohio to host the exhibit.
Produced by the Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation, the 15 panels that make up the exhibit share the story of how the explorers mapped the west and covered the 827,000-square-mile Louisiana Purchase. Topics that are part of the seven themes include Making Maps the Native Way, Making Maps the Scientific Way and Making Maps the Practical Way.
It uses large-scale reproductions of historic maps, photos and explanatory text to show how America looked before Lewis and Clark made their journey and what it looked like after.
Steubenville, in fact, was one of the first cities Meriwether Lewis passed after beginning his journey west in Pittsburgh. Lewis wrote about passing "Stewbenville" in a journal entry of Sept. 6, 1803, less than a week after his trip to meet with William Clark had started. Ohio, in fact, had become a state just a few months earlier, on March 1, 1803.
Historic Fort Steuben has been providing opportunities to learn about the expedition since 2003, according to Paul Zuros, executive director. That includes an extensive display and a selection of books about the expedition. The fort, he adds is now a part of the Historic Trail and Junior Ranger Program run by the National Park Service.
During the summer, he explained several people who were following the Lewis and Clark trail stopped at the fort.
Keeping our region's history alive is important, and exhibitions such as the Maps and Lewis and Clark can help to provide perspective and a fresh look at events that have had a huge impact on the nation. Thanks to the efforts of those who run Historic Fort Steuben, area residents have the chance to learn more details about the region's -- and the nation's -- history.