On February 28, 1803, President Thomas Jefferson won approval from Congress for a visionary project, an endeavor that would become one of America?s greatest stories of adventure. Twenty-five hundred dollars were appropriated to fund a small expeditionary group, whose mission was to explore the uncharted West. Jefferson called the group the Corps of Discovery. It would be led by Jefferson?s secretary, Meriwether Lewis, and Lewis? friend,William Clark.

Before Lewis and Clark were commissioned to explore this region of the continent, in search of a waterway and portage through the Rock Mountains to the west coast, very little was known of the Great Northwest. Owing to the nation's desire to find easier access to Asian trade markets Lewis and Clark set out to find the Northwest Passage.

Setting out from Saint Louis, Missouri in the spring of 1804, they spent the entire spring and summer of that year progressing as far as the Mandan villages of present day North Dakota. There they wintered then set out the following spring to continue their exploration. By mid-June of 1805 they arrived at the Great Falls of the Missouri.

(Click the map for a larger view)

Originally prepared in the form of a colored
sketch by William Clark, this map was first
published in the 1814 edition of the History
of the Expedition. It shows the 18-mile
portage made by Lewis and Clark.
(scanned from Great Falls, A Pictorial History)

The Mandan Indians had told Lewis and Clark about many landmarks along the way including desciptions of great waterfalls. Even with the knowledge that they were to find them, nothng could have prepared them for the grand spectacle. According to Lewis, he was able to

There are many resources available which provide intricate details of the expedition. It is not my intent to re-invent the wheel here. Others have done such a good job that I would only insult their work if I were to try. So, instead, I offer some links to such detailed accounts:

There were few others who came into the area for most of the rest of the century. In 1853, The Isaac Stevens Expedition recommended avoidance of the Missouri River canyon. Later in the 1850's the Mullen Road was laid out - a famous route which passed from Fort Benton through the Vaughn-Sun River area to points to the south and to the west but didn't pass through the area of present day Great Falls.

In 1860 an army surveyor passed through and again in 1872 a Northern Pacific Railroad location engineer examined the area. Other than that, the area was pretty much left alone - much the same as when first explored in 1805.

The Great Northern Railroad would soon play an important role in the creation of the town site which is now Great Falls, Montana.