York - Lewis & Clark Trail Traditional Geocache

York, Captain William Clark’s black “manservant,” accompanied the Lewis and Clark expedition to the Pacific Ocean and back to the East in the years 1803-1806. , York and Clark were roughly the same age. He had been bequeathed to Clark by his father, John Clark, in a will dated July 24, 1799. In 1803 York joined Lewis and Clark and “Nine young men from Kentucky” when they stepped aboard the Corps’ keelboat and set off on a journey into history.

The journals of the expedition members testify, this first black man to cross the continent north of Mexico played a meaningful role in the young nation’s first exploration of the American West. He faithfully performed his share of the duties required of every member in order for the expedition to reach the Pacific and return. His unique features and great strength were viewed with astonishment and awe by Native Americans encountered across the continent. His presence was considered a remarkable phenomenon that enhanced the prestige of the white strangers, as the Indians had never previously met an African-American before.

When the expedition reached the Pacific Ocean, York voted along with the rest as to where the Expedition would build winter quarters, attesting to the esteem he was granted throughout the journey, despite his status as a slave.

A statue of York, with plaques commemorating the Lewis and Clark Expedition and his participation in it, stands at Louisville's Riverfront Plaza/Belvedere, next to the wharf on the Ohio River. Another statue of York stands on the campus of Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon.

Yorks Islands are a group of islands in Broadwater County, Montana which were named for York by the Lewis and Clark Expedition.