Pittsburgh has had many firsts over the years and one of them involves being the launching point for Lewis and Clark and their Corps of Discovery back in 1803.
Andy Masich, the president of the Heinz History Center, says that Pittsburgh was the best place to start such an epic quest, which back then was the equivalent of a moon shot.
“Pittsburgh was the gateway to the west,” Masich said. “There was a fort here, Fort Fayette, and that is where a young officer Meriwether Lewis was stationed when he got a message from President Thomas Jefferson saying, ‘I need someone to lead an expedition to explore the western wilds.’ What is out there? Nobody knew.”…