Historical landmarkSt. Louis · US
Gravesite of William Clark, Co-Captain of the Corps of Discovery with Meriwether Lewis
At the heart of Bellefontaine Cemetery in north St. Louis, a 35-foot gray granite obelisk marks the final resting place of William Clark, the explorer, soldier, and territorial governor who co-led the Corps of Discovery with Meriwether Lewis across the Louisiana Purchase to the Pacific. It is one of the most significant stops on the Lewis and Clark story, and the National Park Service recognizes this gravesite as a High Potential Historic Site on the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail. The monument is as much a sculptural monument as a headstone. A bronze bust of Clark sits on a granite pedestal before the obelisk, carved piers bearing a grizzly bear's head and a lion's head flank the stepped approach, and the stone records in detail the public life of a man who helped open the American West. For visitors interested in exploration, funerary art, or Missouri history, the gravesite rewards the walk through a cemetery that doubles as a celebrated urban arboretum.