PLAN TO BUILD READ HOUSE IS AMBITIOUS PROJECT

Eager Cape Girardeau historians and history buffs are gearing up for the bicentennial celebration of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark's 1803 expedition through the Louisiana Purchase to the Pacific Ocean.

The expedition included a stop right here, where the adventurous duo rested at Cape Girardeau founder Don Louis Lorimier's home, called the Red House.

The Cape Girardeau Lewis & Clark Bicentennial Commission intends to build a version of that historic home as part of the celebration. Members plan to break ground in September on a 100-by-50-foot site on the east side of Aquamsi Street near Old St. Vincent's Roman Catholic Church and Temple B'Nai Israel.

The project also includes an archaeological dig directly east of the church on what historians believe was the original site of the Red House.

And the group wants to re-enact Lewis and Clark's arrival in Cape Girardeau. Descendants of expedition team members will be invited to participate along with descendants of those who lived at the time in Cape Girardeau District, an area between Apple Creek to the north and Commerce, Mo., to the south.

The group has the right idea with all the planned events, even if organizers don't have all the funds they'd like.

Even now, the community is getting behind the project. A number of companies and individuals are donating money, materials and services. Two couples are donating logs for the Red House, for example.

Jeremy Wells, a Southeast Missouri State University historic preservation student, made a good point in a recent letter to the editor.

Because the best record of what the Red House looked like is based on the recollections of a woman who saw the house as a little girl, it's unlikely the replica will be much like the original.

Wells recommended building a museum and using it as an interpretive center on the Red House and Lewis and Clark's journey.

But sometimes a more simplistic approach is needed to get people interested in history.

An actual Red House that residents and tourists can visit will help draw that attention.