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Celebrating 20 Years of the Lewis & Clark Statue

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  • 10/28/2023
  • Falls of the Ohio Foundation
  • 2 Min Read

On Saturday, October 28, 2023, the original donors and officials from the Town of Clarksville gathered to celebrate the 20-year anniversary of the dedication of the Lewis & Clark Statue.

Pictured From Left: Ryan Ramsey (Town of Clarksville), Jake Shapley and Alan Goldstein (IDNR), Ray and Phyllis Yeager, Janet Huff, Jim Keith, Todd Read (SoIN Tourism), Kenton Wooden (Falls of the Ohio Foundation). Not Pictured: Members of the Hoehn Family who were unable to make the event.
Pictured: Jake Shapley (IDNR, far left) and Kenton Wooden (Falls of the Ohio Foundation, far right) with Town of Clarksville Council Members: A.D. Stonecipher, Ryan Ramsey, Karen Henderson, and Mike Mustain.

According to the LewisandClarkTrail.com:

“The statue of Lewis and Clark was dedicated to the memory of Stephen E. Ambrose on October 26, 2003, during the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial in Clarksville, Indiana. The Lewis and Clark statue overlooks the Falls of the Ohio at the Falls of the Ohio State Park.  Mounted on a 16 1/2 ton native slab of Jeffersonville limestone that is between 350-400 million years in age, the statue reminds visitors of the significant part Indiana and the young men of this region played in the epic journey known as the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

The story of the Lewis and Clark Statue

Stephen E. Ambrose, historian and author of the best-selling book, Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of the American West, wrote on page 117 of his acclaimed work:  “When they shook hands, the Lewis and Clark Expedition began.”  He was referring to the events that took place at the Falls of the Ohio.  Ambrose’s deep booming voice echoed in the minds of Elmer Hoehn and Phyllis Yeager.  Elmer’s vision was to have a recorded history of the Bicentennial reflecting the Falls of the Ohio as the departure site of the Expedition.  They dreamed of having a statue bringing Ambrose’s statement to life by October 26, 2003, for the Signature Event at the Falls of the Ohio.  But it was virtually impossible, as time was running out and there were no funds for this project.  Then, by chance (or Lewis and Clark Luck) Phyllis met Carol Grende in March of 2003 in Montana, and Carol said, “I can do it.”  So with a handshake…another great partnership was formed and others enlisted to make the impossible dream a reality.

About the Sculptor

Carol (C.A.) Grende from Big Arm, Montana, designed a series of Lewis and Clark Sculptures inspired by her passion for history. “To walk in the footsteps on the original trails of these explorers fills my heart with honor and humbles me. I feel so fortunate to have lived in the West where the traces of the past are etched into the earth.””