Montana Lewis and Clark site gets new center

BILLINGS – A new 5,700-square-foot interpretive center at Pompeys Pillar National Monument will open to the public this weekend, offering a sweeping view of the pillar and information on its geologic origins and importance to local Native American tribes.

“It’s literally a world-class experience,” said Dick Kodeski, who manages the monument for the Bureau of Land Management.

The interpretive center has been in the works since the BLM took over management of the pillar in 1991. The sandstone outcropping along the Yellowstone River is where explorer William Clark of the Lewis and Clark expedition carved his name in 1806.

“As you progress through the building, the pillar is going to get larger and larger and larger,” Kodeski said.

The gray stone floor is inlaid with a winding ribbon of cream-colored rock representing the Yellowstone River.

The central hallway is also lined with three oil paintings by J.K. Ralston and four pen-and-ink drawings, all related to Pompeys Pillar. The paintings were commissioned by the Foote family, which owned the land and the pillar before it was sold to the BLM.

Aside from Clark’s visit to the valley, the interpretive center examines the flora and fauna of the area, the historical context of the Lewis and Clark expedition and the development of the valley, including fur trapping, agriculture and railroads.

Exhibits include hands-on displays of animal tracks, plants, journal excerpts and a bull boat, a small boat made from a buffalo hide.

Dan Krum, chairman of the Pompeys Pillar Historical Association, said organizers worked hard to include as many perspectives as possible to tell the story of the pillar.