The project centers on two contemporaneous expeditions—the Dunbar–Hunter “Grand Expedition” (1804–1805) and the Freeman–Custis “Red River Expedition” (1806)—which are far less widely known than the Lewis and Clark Expedition but were similarly ambitious in scope.
The Dunbar-Hunter Expedition was the first U.S. government-funded expedition to the Louisiana Purchase to return. This gave Thomas Jefferson and other political leaders in Washington, D.C., their first direct knowledge of the people, places, and natural resources that the United States had acquired through the Louisiana Purchase.
The Freeman-Custis Expedition proved that the ill-defined border between Spanish Texas and American claims in Louisiana was a major diplomatic problem that needed resolution. This resolution did not come until the 1819 Adams-Onís Treaty, which defined most of the current border between Texas and Oklahoma and brought Florida into the United States.
The goal is to interpret these expeditions through a map-based driving route that connects existing historic sites, museums, and landscapes, supplemented by a limited number of interpretive roadside markers.
This website serves as a working proof of concept and research platform as the project develops.
This project is currently in an exploratory and research phase. Locations, routes, and interpretive themes are subject to refinement as additional sources and partnerships are identified.
Louisiana Purchase Exploration Trails 