Lewis and Clark Trail History

The Voyages of the Columbia Rediviva

Lewis and Clark were the first to reach the mouth of the Columbia River by crossing the continent overland, but they weren't the first non-indigenous people to reach that spot.

Robert Gray captained the first American ship to circumnavigate the globe. In 1787 he set off from Boston to the northern Pacific Coast, where they traded for beaver pelts and brought them to China and sold them. From China they continued westward and returned to Boston in 1790. His financial backers were encouraged by his success, so much so that only six weeks after returning Captain Gray was off to circle the world again!

It was April 1792, and Gray was exploring the Pacific coast aboard the Columbia Rediviva. Gray noticed muddy waters flowing from shore and decided to investigate his suspicion that he might have found the fabled "Great River of the West". A treacherous and shifting sand bar at the mouth of the Columbia River challenges any ship attempting to enter the estuary. To the obstacle presented by the sand bar was added bad weather, and Gray was forced to abandon his first attempt.

For the second attempt he ordered a small sailboat launched to find a safe passage across the sand bar, a process known as sounding. On the evening of May 11, 1792, Gray's men found a safe channel, so ship and crew were brought into the estuary of the Columbia River (Gray named the river after his ship) and then sailed upstream. On May 14, the ship reached its furthest point inland, approximately 12-15 miles upriver.

The map above shows where the Columbia River reaches the Pacific Ocean. In the upper right there's a town called Grays River, then towards the southwest there's a town called Rosburg, and then further southwest there's a bay on the north side of the river. That's as far as they got.

At that point in history Oregon Country was the subject of competing claims made by the Spanish, British, Americans and the Russians. Gray's exploration added support for the American claim, but the issue would not be resolved for decades to come.