Jefferson Valley
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- Historical Markers/Interpretive Sign, Historic Sites, Lewis and Clark Expedition
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- General info
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Location: north of Twin Bridges
The Lewis and Clark Expedition, westward bound, came up the Jefferson River in August 1805. They were hoping to find the Shoshone Indians, Sacajawea’s tribe, and trade for horses to use in crossing the mountains west of here. Just south of here the river forks, the east fork being the Ruby and the west fork the Beaverhead. They followed the latter and met the Shoshones near Armstead, which is now under the Clark Canyon Reservoir 20 miles south of Dillon.
On the return trip from the coast in 1806, Capt. Wm. Clark retraced their former route down this valley to Three Forks, and then crossed the Yellowstone. Capt. Lewis left Clark in the Bitter Root Valley, crossed the Divide via the Big Blackfoot River and thence to Great Falls. They met near the mouth of the Yellowstone, arriving within nine days of each other.
Jefferson Valley