Lewis and Clark at Kaw Point / Kaw Point

The Lewis and Clark expedition reached Kaw Point on June 26, 1804, after struggling up the Missouri River and camped above the confluence of the Missouri and Kansas (Kaw) Rivers. Captain William Clark recorded that their tow rope broke twice before they reached the point. The Corps of Discovery, on a scientific and diplomatic mission connected to the recent United States purchase of the Louisiana Territory, traveled with a keelboat, two pirogues, about 46 men, four horses, and Lewis's dog Seaman. Captains William Clark and Meriwether Lewis supervised boat repairs and exploration of the confluence area, and the men built a strong defensive breastwork across the point. John Ordway and a hunting party went up the Kansas River valley, killed several deer, saw their first buffalo, captured a wolf pup, and found excellent springs. A court-martial held on June 29 punished Pvt. John Collins with 100 lashes and Pvt. Hugh Hall with 50 lashes for drawing whiskey without authority. The confluence later helped determine the geographic location of the Kansas City metropolitan area, and the expedition journals judged it a fine place for a fort in a region rich with deer, elk, buffalo, bear, and Carolina parakeets. Claimed at different times by Spain and France until becoming part of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, Kaw Point later lay on the north-south line that became Missouri's western border in 1821. The Delaware reserve created in 1829 included Kaw Point, the Wyandot arrived in 1843 and bought land there from the Delawares, the area became part of Kansas Territory in 1854 under the Kansas-Nebraska Act, the town of Wyandott was incorporated in 1859, and Kaw Point became part of Kansas City, Kansas through the consolidation of 1886.

Kansas City, Kansas · United States