The Jefferson Valley

The fork that mattered here was the Big Hole's, and the choice went wrong before it went right. Lewis reached the junction on August 4, 1805, judged the bold, rapid western branch unnavigable, and left Clark a note on a pole recommending the middle fork. The pole was green; beaver cut it down and carried it off, note and all. Clark took the canoes up the Big Hole until Drouillard overtook him on August 6, a canoe overturned on the way back, and George Shannon, out hunting, was lost again. Lewis named the western river Wisdom.

What the plaque says

The Jefferson Valley In early August, 1805, the Lewis and Clark Expedition, westward bound, came up the Jefferson River and passed through this area. The valley was an ancient travel corridor; Lewis noted the presence of an "old Indian road" near the Big Hole River. The further south up the Jefferson the expedition traveled, the more treacherous the river became. The men were forced to pull the canoes upriver with ropes, tripping over slippery rocks and bruising their feet. By the time they reached this point, their feet were so badly swollen they could hardly walk. In addition, Captain Clark hobbled along with a painful infected leg and George Drouillard was injured after taking a fall down a steep bluff. The Corps was also increasingly preoccupied about contacting the Shoshone and obtaining much-needed horses. On August 4th, they reached the forks of the Ruby and Beaverhead rivers. After little debate, Captain Lewis chose the Beaverhead River as their route and proceeded on toward the main range of the Rocky Mountains. They finally met the Shoshone a week later about 50 miles south of here on the Red Rock River.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Beaverhead Rock — 16 mi
  The hill Sacagawea recognized in August 1805, the first sure sign that her people were close.
• Virginia City — 28 mi
  A gold camp one couple began buying in 1944, and the state bought from their family in 1997.

More markers nearby

• Road Agent Trail — 3.6 mi
• Robber's Roost — 16 mi
• A New World: Tertiary Mammals — 16 mi
• Beaverhead Rock — 18 mi