At winter camp at Wood River—Camp River Dubois—construction begins when the enlisted men clear land and fell timber. Clark‘s field notes give an indication of possible layouts for the fort.
Sketches of Winter Camp at the Wood River
Clark’s field notes (Osgood, Document 1, cropped, contrast adjusted for clarity). Original digitized by Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University Library.
Above: Clark appears to be evaluating different layouts for the buildings that would comprise their winter quarters on the Wood River. Which one he picked we do not know.
Clearing Land
fixed on a place to build huts Set the men to Clearing land & Cutting Logs— a hard wind all day— flying Clouds, Sent to the neghbourhood, Some Indians pass.
—William Clark
Winter Camp at Wood River (Camp Dubois) is a High Potential Historic Site along the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail managed by the U.S. National Park Service. The site, near Hartford, Illinois, is managed as Lewis and Clark State Historic Site and is open to the public.
Experience the Lewis and Clark Trail
The Lewis and Clark Trail Experience—our sister site at lewisandclark.travel—connects the world to people and places on the Lewis and Clark Trail.
Discover More
- The Lewis and Clark Expedition: Day by Day by Gary E. Moulton (University of Nebraska Press, 2018). The story in prose, 14 May 1804–23 September 1806.
- The Lewis and Clark Journals: An American Epic of Discovery (abridged) by Gary E. Moulton (University of Nebraska Press, 2003). Selected journal excerpts, 14 May 1804–23 September 1806.
- The Lewis and Clark Journals. by Gary E. Moulton (University of Nebraska Press, 1983–2001). The complete story in 13 volumes.
This page was funded in part by the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail, U.S. National Park Service.
This site is provided as a public service by the
Lewis and Clark Trail Alliance
with cooperation and funding from the following organizations:
- Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail
- Montana Committee for the Humanities
- Idaho Governor's Lewis and Clark Trail Committee
- The Capital Gallery (Lewis and Clark Fort Mandan Foundation)
- Yellowstone Public Radio
Unless otherwise noted, journal excerpts are from The Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, edited by Gary E. Moulton, 13 vols. (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1983-2001).