LCBO Press Room

Lewis & Clark Bicentennial in Oregon (LCBO) works cooperatively with the Oregon Tourism Commission on media relations. It is the goal of both organizations to provide the media with up-to-date information or to put you in contact with partner organizations who have detailed information on bicentennial sites and events.

For more information, contact:

Lisa Richardson, [email protected], (503) 378-8862
Barbara Allen, Lewis & Clark Bicentennial in Oregon (LCBO), (503) 768-7444

Lewis & Clark Bicentennial: Quick Facts

On January 18, 2003, Oregon and the nation will officially kick off the Lewis & Clark Bicentennial in Monticello, Virginia. The bicentennial will continue through 2006.

The Corps of Discovery was in the now-Oregon / Washington region from October 1805 through May 1806, overwintering at Fort Clatsop near Astoria.

The Lewis & Clark National Historic Trail stretches from the Umatilla Tribes’ homelands in the Pendleton area, through the Columbia River Gorge, present-day Portland and Columbia County, to Clatsop County on the Oregon Coast.

Projections about visitor interest in - and travel to - Lewis & Clark sites range widely. Research conducted for Lewis & Clark trail state tourism offices in 2000 (and being repeated in fall 2002) indicated that Oregon and Washington were two of three states survey respondents were most interested in visiting among the 11 states along the national Lewis & Clark trail. The Columbia River Gorge ranked high as well, along with Monticello and Harper’s Ferry, as the most recognized sites along the national trail.

Oregon has at least six major interpretive facilities (Tamastslikt Cultural Institute on the Umatilla Indian Reservation; the Columbia Gorge Discovery Center and Museum in The Dalles; The Museum at Warm Springs; the Oregon History Center in Portland; and Fort Clatsop National Memorial and the Columbia River Maritime Museum in Astoria) along its Lewis & Clark corridor, and many more local museums and cultural centers.

The state has 15 state and local park facilities with interpretive information, trails and scenic views of the Expedition’s route; six wildlife refuges in Oregon and Washington; and many interpretive waysides and signs along the trail. The Oregon and Washington tourism departments recently produced a Lewis & Clark brochure that highlights all the sites and regions in both states.

Two federally recognized tribes have homelands along the Lewis & Clark Trail in Oregon: The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation and the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, both of whom are observing the sesquicentennial of their 1855 treaty signing in 2005. Other current-day tribes along the trail include the Clatsop-Nehalam and the Chinook.

The Oregon Historical Society in Portland will host the National Lewis & Clark Bicentennial Exhibition (November 11, 2005 - March 11, 2006) and the Astoria area has been selected to host one of the nation’s Signature Events (November 11-15, 2005).