NEBRASKA CITY, Neb. (KMTV) — In the winter of 1803, Lewis and Clark built a fort east of St. Louis which would protect them from the cold. Setting out to create touchable history today, a Nebraska City crew is building five cabins - honoring the materials and techniques used more than 200 years ago.
- Under the working name of Wood River Camp, the fort is situated next to the Missouri River Basin Lewis and Clark Visitor Center and is on track to open in the fall of 2025.
- The five buildings and log surround will total 80' x 80' - used as a stage for living history.
- See it this summer. Starting August 22, 2024, the Visitor Center will host its 20th Anniversary Celebration, providing a first look at construction in-progress.
Read on for the expanded story:
Butch Bouvier restored log cabins for decades.
"But starting from the ground up? Are you serious? What an opportunity! And then, wattle and daub chimneys?!," he exclaimed.
The largest cabin is the centerpiece of the fort. The project was inspired by what Lewis and Clark built near St. Louis the winter of 1803.
"They were putting the Corps of Discovery together and organizing and getting supplies and getting ready to take out on this epic journey," Bouvier shared.
The working name for the Nebraska City endeavor is Wood River Camp.
A beautiful site, the fort is next to the Missouri River Basin Lewis and Clark Visitor Center, which Doug Friedli heads up.
"They step back into time as the way it was 200 years ago, and get that experience," he said of what it will be like when the fort is completed.
Workers are honoring the materials and techniques best they can, though using modern tools here and there. They estimate the original fort took just 17 days to complete. Wood River Camp will take two years - ready in the fall of 2025.
Bouvier will be 79 when it opens.
"When you get to our age, 'cause (Doug's) no spring chicken either, boy at the end of the day - and we're normally the first to get here and the last to leave - and we're pooped," he said smiling.
The crew provides a boost. One member, Thomas, has a decade of masonry experience.
"He puts us to shame. You know, we were doing this and pretty proud of our work. He come in and one-half of a day and would do more than we'd done all week long. He's a master," Friedli remarked.
Another crew member, Sterling, has a farm in Iowa but is also a carpenter.
"I enjoy working with history," he told 3 News Now's Mary Nelson - who observed something else.
"What is the fellowship like here? The camaraderie?" she asked Sterling.
He described it is "second to none."
The idea for the fort came a few years ago when a donor approached Friedli about wanting to create something special. And, now that word is spreading, more people are dropping by to donate tools and supplies.
"Things just serendipitously come. Lewis and Clark would have called it 'divine providence'," Friedli said.
In time, the fort will be treated like a stage for living history.
"This country's losing its history," Bouvier said as tears came to his eyes.
"It's our next generation... It's my grandkids and your grandkids. You want to touch history. See what it feels like."
Details about the Missouri River Basin Lewis and Clark Visitor Center 20th Anniversary Celebration are yet to be finalized, but it's scheduled to start August 22nd, and will run through that weekend with reenactments - and - it will be the public's first opportunity to see the fort in-progress.
