An exhibit recognizing this fall's 200th anniversary of Lewis and Clark's return from their “voyage of discovery,” will open on Oct. 6 at the Kentucky Historical Society's headquarters, the Thomas D. Clark Center for Kentucky History at 100 W. Broadway in Frankfort.

Lewis and Clark: The Exploration of the American West will be on exhibit in the Society's Keeneland Changing Exhibit Gallery from Oct. 6 through Jan. 27.

The exhibit, on loan from The Filson Historical Society, features original portraits, documents, and artifacts from one of the most famous adventures in American history.

“We're celebrating the full circle of the return of the Lewis and Clark Expedition to where its adventure first began,” notes Kent Whitworth, executive director of the Kentucky Historical Society. “This is a national story with Kentucky roots. We are pleased to be a part of the 200th anniversary of the accomplishment of this great adventure.”

In October 1803, Meriwether Lewis joined his friend and coleader William Clark in Clark's home near Louisville to begin their legendary partnership. They recruited a group of young Kentuckians to form the nucleus of the Corps of Discovery. On Oct. 26, they pushed off from the Falls of the Ohio for the first organized U.S. exploration of the territory west of the Mississippi River. They returned to Kentucky to a heroes' welcome in November 1806.

The Kentucky Historical Society presents this exhibit in conjunction with the Kentucky Lewis and Clark Bicentennial Commission. Children's programming, museum theatre, and other special events, including a re-enacted Lewis and Clark encampment on the Frankfort waterfront, are planned at the Kentucky Historical Society and in the Frankfort community during the run of the exhibit.