The Meriwether Lewis Monument was built in 1848 with funding provided by the

Tennessee legislature. The legislation provided $500 "to preserve the place

of internment, where the remains of General Meriwether Lewis were

deposited."



The most noticeable feature of the monument is the broken shaft. This was

done deliberately and was a common custom in the 1800s. The broken shaft

represents a life cut short by an untimely death.



The Pioneer Cemetery was first started in 1856, 47 years after Meriwether

Lewis died and was buried. There are roughly 100 burials in the cemetery

today. The War Department replaced the old and broken headstones with flat

headstones in the 1920s. The flat headstones were restored in the early

2000s.



Meriwether Lewis National Monument



On February 6, 1925, President Calvin Coolidge used the Antiquities Act of

1906 to establish Meriwether Lewis National Monument. The War Department

managed the monument and the superintendent of Shiloh National Military Park

was put in charge of the monument site.



From 1926-1933 the War Department made several improvements to the site,

including replacing the deteriorating cemetery headstones and straightening

and repointing the Lewis Monument's stone. The War Department also marked

the sections of old Natchez Trace that traveled through the site.



The National Park Service era



The national monument was transferred to the National Park Service in 1933,

when Franklin D. Roosevelt reorganized the duties of the executive branch

shortly after his inauguration. By the summer of 1933 a Civilian

Conservation Corps (CCC) camp was established nearby to undertake erosion

control, general cleanup, and nature trail development.



The Natchez Trace Parkway assumed responsibility of the Meriwether Lewis

National Monument in July 1939. With the construction of the Natchez Trace

Parkway paralleling the monument, the site became an integral part of the

Parkway. On August 10, 1961 the Meriwether Lewis National Monument was

officially transferred to the Natchez Trace Parkway.



CONTACT THE PARK



Mailing Address:

2680 Natchez Trace Parkway

Tupelo, MS 38804

Phone: (800) 305-7417