In early May of 1806, Lewis and Clark and the Corps of Discovery passed through here on their return from the Pacific Ocean heading eastward, completing their epoch making journey with their arrival in the frontier town of St. Louis on September 23. While in this region, the hungry men ate cow parsnips and dog for lack of better provisions, and Lewis and Clark commented on the many similarities between the Touchet River Valley and the Plains of the Missouri. This land was first homesteaded in 1859 and was later traded to another settler for a wagon and a team of horses. The area was often referred to as Shiloh and used for camp meetings. The park property became part of the State Park System in 1934.