December 10, 1806

Staunton, Virginia

Staunton (/STAN-ten/) settler John Lewis came here in 1732 followed by William Beverly, a planter and merchant. Geographically located in the center of the Virginia Colony, it was long a regional capital, the westernmost British courthouse, and trading hub. To the northeast, the Great Wagon Road continued to Philadelphia, and to the east, the road led through Rockfish Gap to the homes of Meriwether Lewis and Thomas Jefferson.^[2]“Staunton, Virginia”, Wikipedia, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Staunton,_Virginia, accessed 13 October 2026.

Colter’s Birth

Expedition member John Colter was born in Stuart’s Draft, eleven miles south of Staunton. By 1803, the family had moved to the Maysville, Kentucky area where he said to have approached Lewis coming down the Ohio asking to join the expedition. At the Knife River Villages in present North Dakota, he asked the captains if he could be discharged early to head back west:

Colter one of our men expressed a desire to join Some trappers who offered to become Shearers with and furnish traps &c. the offer a very advantagious one
—William Clark, 15 August 1806

we left our encampment after takeing leave of Colter who also Set out up the river in Company with Messrs. Dickson & Handcock.
—William Clark, 17 August 1806

A historical marker in Stuarts Draft tells of Colter’s fate:

John Colter, born in Stuart’s Draft about 1775, was a member of the northwest expedition led by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark (1804–1806). During his subsequent, solitary explorations of the West, Colter traversed the area now comprising Yellowstone National Park and discovered several passes through the Rocky Mountains suitable for wagon trains. His escape from the Blackfeet Indians following a footrace for his life has become a legend of the West. Colter died in Missouri in 1813.^[3]Historical Marker JD 15 located at Stuarts Draft, Virginia.

An Inquiry from Lisbon

Lisbon 10th. Decr. 1806

Sir [Thomas Jefferson]

I shall be very glad to hear of the safe return of Capen Lewis. His account of the interior of the Northern part of our Continent must be curious & interesting.

Assuring you Sir of my most profound Veneration I am Sir yr mo: obdt & obliged Servt^[4]John Jarvis to Thomas Jefferson, Founders Online, National Archives, founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/99-01-02-4656 accessed 3 January 2026.

William Jarvis

William Jarvis (1770–1859) served as the United States consul in Lisbon and Charge d’affairs for Portugal from 1802 to 1811. There, he sometimes brokered wine purchases on behalf of Thomas Jefferson. In 1810, the second invasion of Napoleon forced the sale of about 4,000 Merino sheep of which Jarvis bought 1400 from the ruling Governmental Junta. He eventually shipped some 3,630 Merino sheep—1400 Paulas, 1700 Aguires, 200 Escurials, 130 Negretti, and about 200 Montarcos—to variouscities in the United States.^[5]Mary Pepperrell Sparhawk Cutts, The Life and Times of Hon. William Jarvis, of Weathersfield, Vermo nt (New York: Hurd and Houghton, 1869), 276–78, 287, available at … Continue reading These were not the first Merino sheep in North America, but it did have a dramatic effect on the sheep industry in North America leading to both boom and bust.^[6]“Merino”, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merino accessed 6 January 2026.