A Heavy Heart and a Great Deal of Work in Lexington

Meeting with George Shannon

William Clark was returning to Lexington, a town he had visited on a militia recruiting mission in 1792, along the Old Frankfort Pike and town of less than 4,400 people.⁽¹⁾

Approaching the Athens of the West, they passed McConnell Springs where William McConnell and his party of surveyors, hunters, land speculators and adventures had camped during 1775. The Pennsylvania men learned of the battle of Lexington in Massachusetts while at the site and returned four year later to be part of the founders of Lexington. Today the 26-acre McConnell Springs Park contains three artesian springs first discovered by the McConnell party.⁽²⁾

The Clark carriage passed the William McConnell limestone house⁽³⁾ over-looking Town Branch, the Middle Branch of Elkhorn Creek, before arriving at Travelers Hall, present-day corner of Short and Upper Streets, Lexington. The hotel was owned by Senator Henry Clay, managed by Cuthbert Banks, the finest hotel in Lexington and hotel the Clarks used during their trip east. Cost for the night was 7.00 plus .25 cents servant and $2.00 a Book.

Travelers Hall was located two blocks north of Town Branch and away from a stream that flooded frequently in the early 1800s. Today, Town Branch Commons is developed as a walking and bike trail, starting at the Isaac Murphy Memorial Art Garden. The trail links two other urban trails, the Legacy Trail, and the Town Branch Trail, totaling 26 miles and connecting the urban core with the Bluegrass farmland.⁽⁴⁾

While in Lexington, William met with George Shannon, a member of the western exploration, paying him $39.69 (entry under expense is 40.00.⁽⁵⁾ George had lost a leg while serving the Federal Government trying to return Sheheke, the Mandan Chief, to his home in present-day North Dakota. With the loss of the leg above the knee, George would need a skill other than strength to make a living. Clark assisted George in securing a place to study at Transylvania Seminary (later University), an institution of higher learning chartered in 1780 while Thomas Jefferson was Governor and Kentucky was a county of VA. George “read-law” and became a successful attorney, state legislator, judge and was active in civic affairs. His marriage to Ruth Snowden Price, a member of a prominent Lexington family, aided his opportunities as an attorney.⁽⁶⁾ One of the many facts in Carolyn Denton’s George Shannon of the Lewis and Clark Expedition: His Kentucky Years is a reference to a letter received by Stephen Austin from Isaac Barker stating, “Shannon started for Philadelphia the 12th ult.” (12 June 1810).⁽⁷⁾ George would have been going to the City of Brotherly Love to assist Nicholas Biddle with the Lewis and Clark Journal editing.

Clark’s stay in Lexington was short, less than 24 hours, but he was active while in the Athens of the West. In his letter to brother Jonathan Clark dated 30 October, he states that he had written to Judge Overton of Nashville to locate and secure the possessions of Governor Meriwether Lewis. He also reminded Jonathan that he needed the bundle of letters he had received in Louisville, especially the “New Madrid Letter” written by Lewis. Clearly, William is focused on preservation of the expedition journals and defending Lewis’ administrative and financial honor.⁽⁸⁾

Images courtesy of Ed Houlihan

2023 Town Branch. Source: Lewis and Clark Trust

Sources:

(1) Holmberg, James, Dear Brother: Letters of William Clark to Jonathan Clark, Yale University Press, New Haven, 2002, page 19.

(2) https://mcconnellsprings.org/

(3) https://npgallery.nps.gov/AssetDetail/NRIS/83002765 (William McConnell House and National Register)

(4) https://www.lexingtonky.gov/townbranchcommons

(5) Denton, Carolyn, George Shannon of the Lewis and Clark Expedition: His Kentucky Years, We Proceeded On, May 1992, page 16. William Clark Journal, State Historical Society of Missouri, page 13 V.

(6) Hopkins, James F. & Hargraves, Mary editor, The Papers of Henry Clay, Vol. 2- The Rising Statesman 1815-1820, UK Press, Lexington, page 29

(7) Denton, Carolyn, George Shannon of the Lewis and Clark Expedition: His Kentucky Years, We Proceeded On, May 1992, page 17.

(8) Holmberg, James, Dear Brother: Letters of William Clark to Jonathan Clark, Yale University Press, New Haven, 2002, page 224.