An exhibit celebrating the bicentennial of the Lewis and Clark expedition is currently on display in the Paul Meek Library. This exhibit of unique artifacts allows the public to witness one of the most important times in the history of the United States of America.

In 1803, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark set out for one of the most important treks in the history of the world. On Feb. 28, 1803, President Jefferson was given permission by Congress to set out on a visionary mission to discover more of the West. This eventual journey not only saw the beginning of Oregon and the fur trade, but it doubled the size of the United States at that time by way of the Louisiana Purchase.

The exhibit that is currently on display has a variety of historically significant reproduced artifacts that detail the events of the Lewis and Clark expedition. Included in this collection are: a souvenir facsimile of the Louisiana Purchase, a reproduced desk and writing implements of Lewis and Clark, various maps routing the expedition, a reproduction of William Clark’s compass, various pictures and drawings and memorabilia from movies and comic books about the Louisiana Purchase.

These artifacts are part of the collection of the Montana Historical Society who agreed to bring them to Martin on loan. None of the materials in the exhibit are original. Richard Saunders, curator and historian from UTM, said that original materials are too rare and too expensive to display in this capacity. A collector from New York offered original pieces to put on display at the price of $335,000 and Saunders said that a recent Bittle journal, an original printing of Lewis and Clark’s journals, sold at an auction recently for $175,000.

B. J. Erwin, a freshman History major, said, “It’s an interesting exhibit and it has a lot of interesting reproductions. I like the reproduction of the Louisiana Purchase in particular.”

The Paul Meek Library offers a variety of historically and culturally important exhibits each year. The current exhibit is titled, “Documenting the Corp of Discovery: Lewis and Clark Expedition” and is open each weekday from 8 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. It will be available for viewing until Friday, March 4.

Saunders said the next exhibit is already determined and will be a collection of World War II photographs called "The Way I Saw It."