Born 12 June 1771, Patrick Gass served as carpenter for Lewis and Clark. The expedition explored and studied the land, waterways, animal life, natural features and resources of the West. Gass's journal of the trip was published in 1807. He was a soldier in the War of 1812, settled in Wellsburg, and purchased land on Pierce's Run. The last survivor of the expedition, he died 2 April 1870 and was buried in nearby Brooke Cemetery.