On November 21, 1803, Meriwether Lewis, William Clark, and their party camped on an island near this place. In his instructions to Lewis, President Jefferson directed him to describe the plants and animals he saw on the journey. As they moved slowly up the Mississippi River, Lewis noted in his journal "a large quantity of Misseltoe" and sketched the islands they passed. He also described "black & white pided ducks," "Heth hens" or prairie chickens, and deer.