Grave of Alexander Hamilton Willard

Willard went up the Missouri with Lewis and Clark as a private and a gunsmith, kept a journal, and was court-martialled on the way out for falling asleep on sentry duty. He crossed to California by wagon in 1852, aged seventy-four, and died at Franklin in 1865. The bronze over him calls him the last surviving member of the expedition. He was not. Patrick Gass outlived him by five years. The plaque also spells his middle name Hamliton.

What the plaque says

Alexander Hamliton Willard Born, Charlestown, N.H., Aug. 24, 1778; died Franklin, Mar. 6, 1865 last surviving member of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. He kept a journal and gave valuable service as a gunsmith. State Society Daughters of Founders and Patriots of America 1957

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Sacramento — 14 mi
  The Gold Rush river port that became the state capital, and jacked itself ten feet into the air to stop drowning.

More markers nearby

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• Murphy's Ranch — 5.3 mi
• Site of First County Free Library Branch in California — 5.6 mi
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