Lewis & Clark & Historical Hysteria

I've been awfully remiss in not acknowledging the early-November debut of the wonderful new "Hysterical Society" blog, birthed by the Albemarle Charlottesville Historical Society before their Executive Committee got wind of it and summarily orphaned it (disappointingly so).

The blog kicked off with a great post about the landmine-laden (yet necessary) effort to devise some signage that would put the Lewis & Clark statue at Ridge & Main into more accurate historical context, particularly as it relates to its portrayal of Sacagawea -- see images below. Good discussion ensued.

I'm adding Hysterical Society to my blogroll and I applaud its rebellious creator for doing his part to help make Cville history come alive!



















Lewis & Clark Statue, 1954 -- you can barely see poor Sacagawea, who's cowering...er, tracking?...at the rear.














Here's the statue as it looked shortly after its 1919 unveiling, with the old Midway School in the background. Can't even see Sacagawea here, but then Meriwether Lewis gets short shrift too ("William Clark Monument").