Extended Weekend Getaways
By Renée Gordon
History Travel Writer
“A Republic, if you can keep it.” Benjamin Franklin 1787
The Constitution was ratified on September 17, 1787 by thirty-nine of the forty-two state delegates. Franklin had spoken on the importance of vigilantly maintaining the US’s status as a constitutional federal republic. The journey is inclusive of numerous ethnicities, places and events that, taken together, relate a multi-dimensional tale leading steadily to the 250th Sesquicentennia.
In 1962 John F. Kennedy honored the Nobel Prize recipients at a White House dinner. He is quoted as saying, “I think this is the most extraordinary collection of talent, of human knowledge, that has ever been gathered at the White House, with the possible exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone.” The colonists voted Jefferson the third president and under his leadership he explored and expanded the borders of the United States. In 1803, for $15-million, he purchased 828,000-sq.-miles from France, making the US substantially larger.
The first federally funded highway was the Cumberland Trail, a trans-Appalachian roadway that was built to provide settlers with access to the West. Jefferson saw the need for the road and authorization for its construction was obtained in 1806. Eventually the road would connect six states, Maryland, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio and Illinois. As you travel what is now Route 40, you can stop and visit the vestiges of bygone eras.
There are highlights to be visited in the small towns, eleven are listed as Guinness World Record holders. Additional quirky attractions include the World Largest Pitchfork, the World’s Largest Gavel and the National Road mural. At the terminus of the route is The National Road Interpretive Center, in Vandalia and it is an ideal location in which to immerse yourself in the history and lore of the National Road.
Approximately 100-miles from Vandalia, on America’s then frontier, the next great “era” took off in Clark, Illinois. The vast majority of residents of the US lived less than 60-miles from the East Coast. In 1801 as Jefferson was inaugurated knowledge of the country west of Illinois to the Pacific Ocean was limited and he felt the situation needed to be rectified immediately. Jefferson, in 1803, penned a private letter to Congress requesting $2,500 to mount an expedition to map, establish trade routes, locate a Northwest Passage and gain in-depth knowledge of all aspects of the regions. One year later approximately 45 men, the Corps of Discovery, set out on an 8,000-mile voyage. They reached the ocean in November of 1805 and returned to St. Louis in the fall of 1806. The noted voyagers were the leader Meriwether Lewis, William Clark the co-commander, Sacagawea, a pregnant, teenage, Shoshone Indian who functioned as guide and interpreter.
York, enslaved to Clark, according to Clark’s journals, was an equal part of the mission and was the First African American to traverse North America to the Pacific Ocean. Ironically Clark did not free York or pay him after the expedition. His final years remain a mystery.
The Chester Welcome Center (National Park Service) sits on a bluff overlooking the Mississippi River. The area is denoted by an interpretive marker that details the history of the journey. Visitors can obtain information and start their trip at the center. Southern Illinois was the Corps final place to recruit the last of the voyagers and get the last of their provisions. They encamped here for several days.
A quite different slice of impactful US history is experienced throughout Chester and on display near welcome center as part of the Popeye and Friends Character Trail. Elzie C. Segar, creator of Popeye, was a hometown boy, he was honored by the erection of a Popeye bronze statue in 1977 and The Popeye Trail was then established. Twenty sculptures are part of the display including Bluto, Wimpy, Swee’Pea, Alice the Goon and of course his love Olive Oy.
The sailor was originally created in 1929 for Elzie’s Thimble Theater comic strip. Popeye was an extremely strong man initially and the addition of spinach as a catalyst appeared later. The comic character is based on Frank “Rocky” Fiegel”, a living Polish sailor known for his strength and his pipe
Before leaving town make a stop in the Popeye Museum. Here you can learn the town’s history and all things Popeye and the selection of cartoon related items is stunning.
Chester is full of treasures ripe for exploring
