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Pittsburgh, PA to Moundsville, WV

Pittsburgh, PA to Moundsville, WV
Trip Summary

Number of stops: 7

Total distance:

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Take a trip down the Ohio River just as Lewis and his crew did in September 1803. Instead of stopping a ‘riffles’ to drag the barge with horses and oxen, you can stop the car and enjoy some great historic sites along the river. This trip starts with an iconic view of Pittsburgh, pays homage to the oldest surviving member of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, and ends at ancient mounds built by the Adena culture. From modern to ancient, this trip shows it all.

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Stop 1: Point of View Park

Iconic views of Pittsburgh can be had along Grandview Drive atop Mt. Washington. Point of View can be reached by car or by the historic Duquesne Incline. Did Meriwether Lewis climb these hills while he waited for the barge to be built—July 15 to August 30, 1803? If he did, he could only worry about the low water levels he saw.

Be sure to see the larger-than-life bronze statue of General George Washington and Seneca Chief Guyasuta depicting their meeting in October 1770—aptly titled "Points of View". An interpretive marker there tells the story.

Stop 1

Point of View, Grandview Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

Point of View Park (Pittsburgh)

1435 Grandview Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15211, USA

Duquesne Incline

Duquesne Incline Parking West Carson Street Pittsburgh, West Carson Street, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

Point State Park

Point State Park, Commonwealth Place, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

Places to Visit (Sorted by Distance)

Point of View Park (Pittsburgh)
Point of View Park (Pittsburgh)

1435 Grandview Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15211, USA

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Duquesne Incline
Duquesne Incline

Duquesne Incline Parking West Carson Street Pittsburgh, West Carson Street, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

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Point State Park
Point State Park

Point State Park, Commonwealth Place, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

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Stop 2: Old Economy Village

"Old Economy Village features 17 historic buildings surrounded by gardens in the Borough of Ambridge. This National Historic Landmark tells the story of the Harmony Society, one of the oldest and most successful religious communal groups of the 19th century.

Today, you can explore the buildings, grounds, library, archives, and original artifacts and discover the history, culture, and stories of this community's spiritual discipline and economic industry.

The Visitor Center is open to the public seasonally Friday through Sunday 10:00 am – 4:00 pm and includes two exhibit galleries and an orientation video.

Groups of 10 or more people are asked to make a reservation at least 2 weeks in advance by calling the site."

(https://www.oldeconomyvillage.org/)


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Stop 3: Fort McIntosh

Located on the Ohio River's steep bank near the mouth of the Beaver, Fort McIntosh overlooked the Ohio's northernmost reach.

The fort played a significant role after the Revolutionary War. Established in 1778, it hosted an Indian treaty signing in January 1785 and housed the First American Regiment, the oldest active unit in the U.S. Army. Named for Gen. Lachlan McIntosh, the fort was abandoned in 1791.

On September 3, 1804, Lewis stopped here to discharge one of his crew:
"we set out at 9 this morning and passed a riffle just below us called Atkins’s got over with tolerable ease passed the mouth of big bever creek and came to ancor off Mackintosh being 2½ miles— discharge one of my hands.—"
—Meriwether Lewis

The site now features stone footings, a replica cannon, and historical markers. Nearby modern attractions include the Beaver Station Cultural Events Center and the Beaver Area Heritage Museum, accessible via PA 68.

Stop 3

Fort McIntosh, Beaver, PA, USA

Fort McIntosh, Beaver, Pennsylvania

740 River Rd, Beaver, PA 15009, USA

Beaver Area Heritage Museum and 1802 Cabin

Beaver Area Heritage Museum, River Road, Beaver, PA, USA

Bridgewater Historic District

Bridgewater Historic District, Unnamed Road, Beaver, PA, USA

Places to Visit (Sorted by Distance)

Fort McIntosh, Beaver, Pennsylvania
Fort McIntosh, Beaver, Pennsylvania

740 River Rd, Beaver, PA 15009, USA

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Beaver Area Heritage Museum and 1802 Cabin
Beaver Area Heritage Museum and 1802 Cabin

Beaver Area Heritage Museum, River Road, Beaver, PA, USA

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Bridgewater Historic District
Bridgewater Historic District

Bridgewater Historic District, Unnamed Road, Beaver, PA, USA

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Stop 4: "Beginning Point" in East Liverpool

The "Point of Beginning" in East Liverpool, Ohio, is a National Historic Engineering Landmark. It marks the start of the American Rectangular Land Survey System, initiated by the Federal Government in 1785. This monument on the Ohio River indicates where surveyors began dividing the Northwest Territory into "Ranges," forming the one-mile-square grid system extending across much of the Central U.S. Interpretive signs and markers tell the story.

Stop 4

Beginning Point, Ohio 39, East Liverpool, OH, USA

The Beginning Point

East Liverpool, Ohio, USA

Museum of Ceramics

Museum of Ceramics, East 5th Street, East Liverpool, OH, USA

Cadence Vault Gastropub

Cadence Vault Gastropub, East 5th Street, East Liverpool, OH, USA

Places to Visit (Sorted by Distance)

The Beginning Point
The Beginning Point

East Liverpool, Ohio, USA

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Museum of Ceramics
Museum of Ceramics

Museum of Ceramics, East 5th Street, East Liverpool, OH, USA

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Cadence Vault Gastropub
Cadence Vault Gastropub

Cadence Vault Gastropub, East 5th Street, East Liverpool, OH, USA

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Stop 5: Patrick Gass Grave

Patrick Gass, aged ninety-eight at his death on April 2, 1870, is buried in Brooke Cemetery, Wellsburg, West Virginia, with his wife Maria Hamilton. He was the last surviving member of the Lewis and Clark expedition.
Born in Pennsylvania, Gass grew up in Pennsylvania and Maryland. He joined the Army as a young man, serving in the Northwest Territory to clear Indigenous people for White settlers. A skilled carpenter, he built Fort Kaskaskia and contributed significantly to the Lewis and Clark Expedition, constructing winter quarters and repairing boats.
Gass became a sergeant after Sergeant Charles Floyd's death and kept a journal despite his lack of formal education. His journal, published in 1807 by David McKeehan, was the first account of the expedition, preceding the official journals of Lewis and Clark by seven years.
The way to the gravesite is well-signed within the cemetery.

Stop 5

Brooke Cemetery Co, 22nd Street, Wellsburg, WV, USA

Patrick Gass Gravesite

Brooke Cemetery Co, 22nd Street, Wellsburg, WV, USA

Fonces Produce

153R 23rd St, Wellsburg, WV 26070, USA

Wellsburg, West Virgina

Wellsburg, WV, USA

Places to Visit (Sorted by Distance)

Patrick Gass Gravesite
Patrick Gass Gravesite

Brooke Cemetery Co, 22nd Street, Wellsburg, WV, USA

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Fonces Produce
Fonces Produce

153R 23rd St, Wellsburg, WV 26070, USA

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Wellsburg, West Virgina
Wellsburg, West Virgina

Wellsburg, WV, USA

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Stop 6: Historic Fort Steuben

Historic Fort Steuben in Steubenville, Ohio, is a reconstructed fort from 1786-7, originally built by the First American Regiment to protect surveyors mapping the Northwest Territory.

Named after Prussian officer Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben, it served as a strategic military defense site along the Ohio River. No other individual shaped the military aspects of the Lewis and Clark Expedition more than Friedrich Wilhelm Baron von Steuben. (For more, see https://lewis-clark.org/people/baron-von-steuben/)

The non-profit Old Fort Steuben Project, Inc. rebuilt the fort and now offers historical and educational programs. Visitors can explore blockhouses, officers' quarters, shops, a guardhouse, hospital, commissary, frontiersman’s camp, and a surveying display.

Adjacent to the fort is the First Federal Land Office west of the Alleghenies, housing antiques and documents important to Ohio's early history. Tours include both the fort and the Land Office. Begin your visit at the Visitor Center.

Stop 6

Historic Fort Steuben, South 3rd Street, Steubenville, OH, USA

Historic Fort Steuben and the Steubenville Visitor Center

Historic Fort Steuben, South 3rd Street, Steubenville, OH, USA

Steubenville Nutcracker Village

Steubenville Nutcracker Village, North 4th Street, Steubenville, OH, USA

Bayberry House Bed & Breakfast

Bayberry House Bed and Breakfast, North 4th Street, Steubenville, OH, USA

Places to Visit (Sorted by Distance)

Historic Fort Steuben and the Steubenville Visitor Center
Historic Fort Steuben and the Steubenville Visitor Center

Historic Fort Steuben, South 3rd Street, Steubenville, OH, USA

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Steubenville Nutcracker Village
Steubenville Nutcracker Village

Steubenville Nutcracker Village, North 4th Street, Steubenville, OH, USA

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Bayberry House Bed & Breakfast
Bayberry House Bed & Breakfast

Bayberry House Bed and Breakfast, North 4th Street, Steubenville, OH, USA

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Stop 7: Grave Creek Mound Historic Site

In 1803, Meriwether Lewis described an impressive artificial mound, almost a perfect cone, 310 yards around its base, 65 feet high, with a concave point of 30 feet in diameter.

This site features the largest Adena Burial mound, constructed around 250-150 B.C. with over 60,000 tons of earth. Originally, it had a 40-foot-wide moat. In 1838, it measured 69 feet tall and 295 feet in diameter.

An 1838 excavation uncovered two burial vaults, Adena ornaments, remains, and a controversial sandstone tablet, now replicated in the Delf Norona Museum.

Stop 7

Grave Creek Mound Historical Site, Jefferson Avenue, Moundsville, WV, USA

Grave Creek Mound Historic Site

Grave Creek Mound Historical Site, Jefferson Avenue, Moundsville, WV, USA

Historic Moundsville, West Virginia

Moundsville, West Virginia, USA

Glen Dale to Moundsville Rail Trail

1 Fokker Fld, Glen Dale, WV 26038, USA

Places to Visit (Sorted by Distance)

Grave Creek Mound Historic Site
Grave Creek Mound Historic Site

Grave Creek Mound Historical Site, Jefferson Avenue, Moundsville, WV, USA

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Historic Moundsville, West Virginia
Historic Moundsville, West Virginia

Moundsville, West Virginia, USA

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Glen Dale to Moundsville Rail Trail
Glen Dale to Moundsville Rail Trail

1 Fokker Fld, Glen Dale, WV 26038, USA

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