Lewis and Clark Revisited

Opening Reception:
Thursday, March 8
5:30 - 7:00 p.m

In 1803, President Thomas Jefferson organized a secret exploration of the western portion of the continent. He gave the job to Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. They were to find a water route to the Pacific Ocean, something that Jefferson hoped would open the west to commerce and settlement by Americans and eventually force the British to give up control of the territory to the northwest of the Mississippi River. For two years, the expedition traveled throughout the west, finally reaching the Pacific Ocean via the Columbia River in November 1905. While Lewis and Clark trekked across the future nation, the Spanish missions in California were already well established. Military posts, small settlements of Spanish colonists, rudimentary agriculture, and travel marked California as not quite a thriving place but at least a settled one. While Lewis and Clark did not venture to California or find a water passage to the Pacific, they did successfully open the western frontier to the concept of settlement by Americans.

Following in the footsteps of the Lewis and Clark expedition, contemporary photographer, and local resident Greg MacGregor traces the historic 19th century journey west to see the route as it exists today. Using the Lewis and Clark journals as his guide, MacGregor follows the original path as much as possible and captures vivid images along the way. Paired with Lewis and Clark's journal entries, MacGregor's photos show the transformation of the land and its people and reveal how two hundred years of human inhabitance have dramatically altered much of the landscape of our country.

The "Lewis and Clark Revisited: A Trail in Modern Day" exhibition tour was organized by Greg MacGregor and the California Exhibition Resources Alliance (CERA). CERA is a network of professionally operated museums and cultural organizations that collaborate to create and tour smaller, affordable, high quality exhibitions that enhance civic engagement and human understanding. CERA is supported by generous grants from The James Irvine Foundation and The William Randolph Hearst Foundation.