People
Name: Pike, Zebulon
Profession: Explorer or Trapper
Category: St. Louis and the West
Born/Started: 1779
Died/Ended: 1813
Description: Zebulon Pike was an explorer best known for discovering the peak in Colorado that bears his name. Pike left St. Louis in 1805 to find the source of the Mississippi River. He reached Leech Lake in present day Minnesota in February 1806, six months and 2000 miles later. He wrongly thought he had discovered the source of the mighty Mississippi. He then went southwest to explore the headwaters of the Arkansas and Red Rivers and crossed into Spanish Territory. He helped set the course of the Santa Fe trade. The first steamboat to try to move up the Mississippi above the Ohio was named the Zebulon Pike.
Reference
Saint Louis Portrait
More People
in the Same Profession(s)
Related Links
KC museum
people
• structures • events
• sources • home
about
historic preservation• new entries• 4 kids only• map it!
This
site was made possible by: the City of St. Louis Planning and Urban Design Agency and
the City of St. Louis Community
Information Network.
This site was funded in part by Federal funds administered by the Missouri State Historical Preservation
Office, Missouri Department of Natural Resources, The National Park Service, and the U.S. Department of the Interior.
Version 1.0