Camp Chopunnish was the first major camp on the

Lewis and Clark Expedition The Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery Expedition, was the United States expedition to cross the newly acquired western portion of the country after the Louisiana Purchase. The Corps of Discovery was a select gr ...

's return voyage. It is located in

Idaho County, Idaho Idaho County is a county in the U.S. state of Idaho, and the largest by area in the state. As of the 2020 census, the population was 16,541. The county seat is Grangeville. Previous county seats of the area were Florence (1864–68), Washingto ...

, along the north bank of the Clearwater River, it is now part of the

Nez Perce National Historical Park The Nez Perce National Historical Park is a United States National Historical Park comprising 38 sites located across the states of Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington, which include traditional aboriginal lands of the Nez Perce people. The sit ...

. It was named after Lewis' name for the

Nez Perce The Nez Percé (; autonym in Nez Perce language: , meaning "we, the people") are an Indigenous people of the Plateau who are presumed to have lived on the Columbia River Plateau in the Pacific Northwest region for at least 11,500 years.Ames, K ...

s tribe native there. In the expedition journals it was also called Long Camp (because of the duration of the stay) and Camp Kamiah (for its location).

History

The expedition departed

Fort Clatsop Fort Clatsop was the encampment of the Lewis and Clark Expedition in the Oregon Country near the mouth of the Columbia River during the winter of 1805–1806. Located along the Lewis and Clark River at the north end of the Clatsop Plains approxi ...

, near present-day Astoria,

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...

in March 1806, after a dismal winter near the Pacific coast. By May 3, they had arrived back among the Nez Perce tribe, but determined that because of snow it was too early to cross the mountains on the

Lolo Trail Lolo can refer to: Places United States * Lolo, Montana, a census-designated place * Lolo Butte, a summit in Oregon * Lolo Pass (Idaho–Montana) * Lolo Pass (Oregon) * Lolo National Forest, Montana * Lolo Peak, Montana Elsewhere * Lolo, Cam ...

over the

Bitterroot Mountains The Northern and Central Bitterroot Range, collectively the Bitterroot Mountains ( Salish: čkʷlkʷqin), is the largest portion of the Bitterroot Range, part of the Rocky Mountains and Idaho Batholith, located in the panhandle of Idaho and we ...

. From mid-May to mid-June the expedition stopped at Camp Chopunnish, stocking food for the mountain crossing. On June 10 the group moved to a camp on

Weippe Prairie Weippe Prairie is a "beautiful upland prairie field of about nine by twenty miles of open farmland bordered by pine forests" at 3,000 feet elevation in Clearwater County, Idaho, at Weippe, Idaho. Camas flowers grow well there, and attracted ...

in preparation for crossing the Lolo Trail, which, after an initial failure, was crossed in the last week in June. In 1902, when historian Olin D. Wheeler visited the site, he could still see the sunken circular ring where Lewis and Clark had established their camp. Since that time, however, the integrity of the site has been destroyed. A large sawmill now covers it, and numerous other buildings are located in the vicinity. The area may be viewed from an unmarked turnout on U.S. 12 along the opposite, or southside of the river.

References

External links

Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition Online
Lewis and Clark Expedition Pre-statehood history of Idaho Nez Perce National Historical Park Protected areas of Idaho County, Idaho {{Idaho-stub