History Is at Every Turn

You don’t always need a museum ticket — sometimes the past is waiting just off the road.

It’s easy to think of history as something tucked away in museums, classrooms, or carefully planned trips. But often, the story of our nation is right in front of us — if we’re paying attention.

Take the marker above, for example. On September 13, 1803, Meriwether Lewis — yes, of the famed Lewis and Clark expedition — paused opposite Marietta, Ohio, and wrote a letter to President Thomas Jefferson. He described the Ohio River, its challenges, and its promise as he prepared to head deeper into the journey that would chart a course across the continent.

What makes this remarkable is not just the words or the plaque itself, but the reminder that their great expedition began much closer to home than many realize. Lewis and Clark’s journey didn’t start on the western frontier — it began in Pittsburgh at the start of September 1803, slowly working its way downriver before pushing westward into the unknown.

And here’s the point: you don’t need to travel far to brush up against history. Keep an eye out for those historical markers by the roadside. Stop for a few minutes. Read them. They’re small windows into moments that shaped communities, states, and even nations.

History isn’t just in textbooks — it’s woven into the places we drive past every day.

So the next time you’re on the road, slow down. You never know when you’ll stumble on a reminder that our past is always closer than we think.