Meriwether Lewis was a Captain in the United States Army, Private Secretary to President Jefferson, senior commander of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, and Governor of the Territory of Louisiana. In the Grinder house, whose ruins were still discernible 230 yards south of this spot, his life of romantic endeavor and lasting achievement came tragically and mysteriously to its close on the night of Oct. 11, 1809. Great care was taken to identify his grave: George Nixon, Esq., an old surveyor who had become very early acquainted with the locality, pointed out the place, and to make assurance doubly sure the grave was reopened and the upper portion of the skeleton examined, with evidence found that left no doubt of the place of interment.