The Accidental Historian
Rex has a unique claim to fame: he uncovered a missing chapter of early American History that has resulted in the founding of America's newest National Park.
Lewis and Clark's arrival at the Pacific Ocean confused historians for nearly two centuries - some overlooked what took place while others misinterpreted the events. Rex accidentally stumbled upon this gap in our history and became intrigued.
He dug into the Lewis and Clark journals, closely examining every word, studying their maps and repeatedly retracing sections of their route on foot. He spent years analyzing this moment of history and even calculated the tides and phases of the moon to better understand the exact conniptions Lewis and Clark endured back in November of 1805.
Finally, after more than six years of research, Rex published his findings. The story he revealed had never been told by any previous historians, but it was solidly based on the explorer's hand-written journals.
At first, Lewis and Clark scholars challenged Rex's new interpretation, but after further investigation and re-examination of the journals, they acknowledged Rex's breakthrough findings.
State historical societies and then elected officials in state and national government became convinced that this newly discovered history deserved to be widely known.
The ultimate compliment to Rex's ground-breaking research came when the federal government purchased the sites he had identified and created the Lewis and Clark National Historic Park.