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Bellevue
Nebraska Busy Making
Lewis and Clark Riverfront Celebration Plans |
OmahaRiverFront.com
by
Nancy Neurohr |
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Published
Tuesday August 7, 2001
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Bellevue
Nebraska leaders are now putting
their plans in place to mark the 200th
anniversary of the 'Corps of Discovery'.
Encouraged by a recent discovery that Lewis and Clark actually
camped on what is now known as Gifford's
Point in Bellevue, Olde Towne merchants,
the
Sarpy
County Historical Society and
the
Fontenelle
Nature Association, are
working to organize "living history" presentations at
historic Bellevue sites in time for the Lewis and Clark
bicentennial.
Until
recently, the place that the explorers called
Camp
White Catfish,
was believed to be on the other side of the river in
Council
Bluffs.
A map reconstruction by cartographer Martin Plamondon II, now
indicates that the camp which at one point was east of the river,
is now on the Nebraska side due to a shift of the river's path.
Mouth
of the Platte, the Omaha-based chapter of the
Lewis
and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation,
is working to identify and mark places where Lewis and Clark
camped in Iowa and Nebraska. Bellevue will definitely be involved
in the celebrations. The Bellevue Chamber of Commerce will help
coordinate and publicize the various activities.
In
addition, city leaders are looking into the idea of turning an
abandoned Nebraska Public Power District plant into a riverfront
site with a scenic overlook. The power plant, which closed in
1987, sits near the Bellevue
marina.
The
100-acre property could be turned into a recreation area with
historical interpretation areas and a riverwalk trail that would
bring visitors right to the Missouri River's edge.
The
city and the
Papio-Missouri
Natural Resources District has
asked the power district to simply donate the land to Bellevue,
considering that the city sold it to them for a dollar in 1949!
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Comments
from READERS |
The
possibility that Lewis and Clark camped at what is now
Bellevue is dubious at best. The river, which was once a mile
wide, has moved since 1804 yet most of the accretion land
near the "White Catfish Camp" remains in Mills
County, Iowa. In short, NO ONE can say with any sort of
historical credibility that Lewis and Clark camped at that
particular point. The best that anyone can say is that Lewis
and Clark MIGHT have camped NEAR the spot. Any other
suggestion is pure speculation....
- Ryan Roenfeld |
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