York (explorer) - Legacy

Legacy

A statue of York, by sculptor Ed Hamilton, with plaques commemorating the Lewis and Clark Expedition and his participation in it, stands at Louisville's Riverfront Plaza/Belvedere, next to the wharf on the Ohio River. Another statue of York stands on the campus of Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon. Dedicated on May 8, 2010, it does not focus on York's face, since no images of York are known to exist. Instead, it features fragments of William Clark's maps "scarred" on the statue's back.

The opera "York" (composer Bruce Trinkley and librettist Jason Charnesky), based on York's life, was composed for the first international conference on the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial and performed at Penn State Opera Theatre.

"Yorks Islands" are a group of islands in Broadwater County, Montana, which were named for York by the Lewis and Clark Expedition. The islands were originally named "Yorks 8 Islands," but have since become known as "Yorks Islands" or simply "York Island." The naming of "Yorks 8 Islands" is not found in the narrative journals of Lewis and Clark. Instead it is found in Clark’s tabulations of “Creeks and Rivers,” by the entry, “Yorks 8 Islands.” The Lewis and Clark Expedition also named another geographical feature for York, "York's Dry Creek", a tributary of the Yellowstone River, in Custer County, Montana. This name was later abandoned, and the creek was renamed "Custer Creek".

In 2001, President Bill Clinton posthumously granted York the rank of honorary sergeant in the United States Army. Kentucky poet, Frank X. Walker has written two books of poetry about York: Buffalo Dance: the Journey of York (2004) and When Winter Come: the Ascension of York (2008). Both books were published by the University of Kentucky Press.