The Lewis and Clark State Historic Site opened in 2002 and is owned and operated by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources Division of Historic Preservation. The site, located in Hartford, Illinois, commemorates Camp River Dubois, the camp of the Lewis and Clark Expedition from December 1803 to May 1804.
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I went here on vacation. The landscaping is well taken care of, and the staff are very nice. The museum portion was interesting, though I would say more aimed towards the kids. Ngl, I had fun with it. They have a lot of little interactable station and I couldn't help but indulge in them. Unfortunately, I didn't have time to watch the movie they screen every 45 mins or so. If I ever come through there again, I'll be sure to check it out! The gift shop was nice, carrying what looks like neat little locally sourced toys, gadgets, and keepsakes. Mostly themed around the time period of Luis and Clark's expedition. All at reasonable prices too. That all said, I do have one gripe. The exterior exhibit. Outside of the building is a replica of the small fort built all that time ago. Unfortunately, the recent weather as of visiting there wreaked havoc in these small wooden cabins and sheds. The museum is state funded, as well as taking donations upon visiting. If the state could give them a little extra funding and they could rebuild this little life-sized replica settlement, it would make the...
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Not good for kids, despite their good efforts with coloring pages and books at the end of the museum. I LOVE Westward Expansion history and had really been looking forward to enjoying this museum, but I need to go back without my 8 and 10 year olds in tow. They were miserable, and disruptive to other guests, despite my absolutely perfect parenting (that's a joke - no parent is perfect).
The museum had a smell to it like bad breath, the whole time. I have been to a million museums and have never smelled this smell before. Please invest my $20 gift shop expenditure into Glade Plug-Ins.
The volunteer lady who was there was SO LOUD. Her voice echoed through the whole building. I suffer from sensory issues, and couldn't focus on the exhibits. There was a lot of reading, the museum is pretty much all reading, and I couldn't focus.
I will come back, with no children, and with my noise...
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Awesome place! The museum is large and has so much information about the Lewis and Clark expedition. There is a replica keelboat with some replica supplies to show similarily what it would have looked like on their journey. The gal at the front desk was friendly and easy to talk to, there is a nice gift shop but it closes earlier than the museum, at 3 instead of 4. The replica of the camp is just outside of the museum and is run down, it looks like it used to be open and there were exhibits inside of those but not it's just a bunch of ratty old log buildings that are falling apart... I would love to see those restored and turned back into an immersive experience! The place is free so that's a plus! A nice way to spend an...
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