In the Footsteps of Lewis and Clark: Early Commemorations and the Origins of the National Historic Trail

4: The 1955 Sesquicentennial

107 W hat I have termed the “standard model” of understanding Lewis and Clark—glorifying the explorers as forerunners of civilization—informs the array of celebrations that marked the 150th anniversary of the expedition. Still, the commemorations covered a wide gamut of sophistication, running from “folk” to “literate elite” images. In the spring of 1955, Hollywood offered its contribution when ParamountPicturesreleasedthefilmTheFarHorizons,starringCharlton Heston as William Clark, Fred MacMurray as Meriwether Lewis, and Donna Reed as “Sacajawea.” The movie virtually ignored historical fact in favor of rather typical cinematic clichés about the West. Even traditional views of the explorers appear to have been ignored. Time Magazine complained that “the very qualities that made Meriwether Lewis and William Clark great explorers—coolheadedness, caution The 1955 Sesquicentennial C h a p t e r F o u r 108 T he 1 9 5 5 S es q u ice n te n n i a l and iron self-discipline—are precisely the ones the moviemakers have thrown out the window.” While Clark and Lewis were depicted as “a pair of buffoons who would have trouble finding the mailbox,” Donna Reed played Sacajawea as “a high-fashion pulse-thumper turned out in beautifully tailored buckskin.” Conveniently for Clark and their romantic relationship, in the movie she was unmarried and had no child.1 Citing frequent Indian onslaughts and a “monosyllabic script” spiced up by an ongoing feud between Clark and Lewis, a critic for The New York Times concluded: “As for Paramount’s idea of what Lewis and Clark did, was this trip necessary? Shucks, no.”2 For most of the country, The Far Horizons was probably the final word in remembering the famous journey of exploration. But while most of the national audience appeared to accept Paramount’s version of the expedition, an increasing number of enthusiasts at the local and regional levels took a more serious view. Even at the folk level, residents of communities on or near the trail knew the Hollywood version failed to accord with commonly understood events in the Lewis and Clark narrative. By 1955 the heritage of the Corps of Discovery’s 1804–1806 journey had achieved more than purely historic or even nationalistic interest in the states through which the route had passed. For cities and communities in the region, the memory of Lewis and Clark represented growing commercial and promotional opportunities. Such opportunities, as indicated earlier, were closely tied to the national highway system, which, in the far West at least, had come into being in the late 1920s and the 1930s. Automobile tourism, especially after World War II, breathed new life into many dying towns. As described earlier, from the very beginning of the automobile age, promoters had touted particular highway routes in an effort to attract tourists, and, when possible, regional boosters attached colorful names and historical themes to these routes. The Lewis and Clark Expedition route seemed to be a natural for this sort of promotion, and highways played a major role in commemorations during the mid-1950s and thereafter. With the advent of the sesquicentennial in 1955, local and regional activities increased sharply. The governors of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Montana proclaimed 1955 “Lewis and Clark Year” and ap- 109 T he 1 9 5 5 S es q u ice n te n n i a l pointed a joint committee of representatives from the sesquicentennial committees in those states that met in Spokane, Washington, in December 1954 to plan commemorative celebrations. Events were scheduled to take place between May and October 1955 and were spaced so that none would conflict. In some cities a Lewis and Clark theme was added to regular annual events, while others staged elaborate celebrations dedicated to the sesquicentennial.3 Ever since the 1905 Lewis and Clark Exposition, the Seaside, Oregon, Chamber of Commerce had been determined to “hold an annual festival commemorating the first Americans to cross the continent.” In Astoria, Oregon, a full week of activities accompanied the dedication of a newly completed replica of Fort Clatsop, the small log habitation where the Corps of Discovery spent the winter of 1805–1806.4 Special guests included William Glasgow Clark, said to be a “direct descendent” of William Clark, and Lydia Large, whose lineage as “Sacajawea’s . . . great-great-grand niece” had been sworn to by the superintendent of the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming. From August 20 through...