Tavern Cave, also known as the Taverne-A Cave, is a historic archaeological site located near

St. Albans St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major town on the old Roman ro ...

Franklin County, Missouri Franklin County is located in the U.S. state of Missouri. At the 2020 census, the population was 104,682. Its county seat is Union. The county was organized in 1818 and is named after Founding Father Benjamin Franklin. Franklin County is part ...

Meriwether Lewis Meriwether Lewis (August 18, 1774 – October 11, 1809) was an American explorer, soldier, politician, and public administrator, best known for his role as the leader of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery, with ...

and William Clark visited Tavern Cave on May 23, 1804 at the beginning of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. The cave includes a

petroglyph A petroglyph is an image created by removing part of a rock surface by incising, picking, carving, or abrading, as a form of rock art. Outside North America, scholars often use terms such as "carving", "engraving", or other descriptions ...

of either a canoe or a historic flat boat and several 19th century era inscriptions. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1970.

References

Archaeological sites on the National Register of Historic Places in Missouri Buildings and structures in Franklin County, Missouri National Register of Historic Places in Franklin County, Missouri Caves of Missouri Petroglyphs in Missouri {{FranklinCountyMO-NRHP-stub