The visits of Captain Meriwether Lewis and Second Lieutenant William Clark to Botetourt are an important aspect of Botetourt’s rich history. Now part of the Virginia State Lewis and Clark Trail, the Botetourt County Historical Museum and the Botetourt Courthouse feature official Trail signs.
Weldon Martin, Patty King and Kip Burton arranged for the museum to receive a “Discovery Trunk” that is on display there. The three-by-two-foot Ponderosa pine trunk with leather and brass straps was made by John Fisher, an Idaho educator, historian and scientist. He faithfully reproduced 12 trunks to be used around the country for educational purposes. The trunks are portable and handcrafted after the ones carried by the Corps of Discovery during the Lewis & Clark Expedition to the Pacific Northwest and back. Fisher filled each trunk with items that were carried back to Thomas Jefferson at Monticello and Washington, D.C.
Each trunk contains different and customized items. Recently the trunk was taken to Greenfield Elementary School where third grade students were able to explore the real life items in the trunk.
Learn more at the Botetourt Museum which is free and open to the public seven days a week: Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and Sunday from 2 to 4 p.m.
