Biographical Note
Eldon “Frenchy” Chuinard was born in 1904 in Kelso, Washington. He
went to college at the University of Puget Sound and Oregon Health Sciences
University. Frenchy went into practice as an Orthopedic Surgeon, and served as
a Chief Surgeon at Shriners Hospital for crippled children. He retired at the
age of 76.
Chuinard had a life long interest in the Lewis and Clark Expedition
and served as the founding of the Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation and
the chairman of the Governor’s Lewis and Clark Trail Committee. He wrote
extensively on Lewis and Clark, and in 1979 published
Only One man Died: The Medical Aspects of the
Lewis and Clark Expedition (Arthur H. Clark Company), which has
remained in print with various publishers for many years. Chuinard donated his
library to the College in the late 1980’s. This collection served as the
foundation for the other collections that followed.
Dr. Chuinard died February 9, 1993. His legacy lives on in his
writings, library, and his commitment to scholarship of the Lewis and Clark
expedition.
Content Description
This collection includes: correspondence, images, page proofs,
readers comments, and drafts relating to the publication of
Only One man Died: The Medical Aspects of the
Lewis and Clark Expedition by Eldon G. Chuinard. It also includes other
publications by Chuinard.
Use of the Collection
Restrictions on Access This collection has no restrictions and is open for research.
Restrictions on Use Permission to publish, exhibit, broadcast, or quote from materials in
the Watzek Library Archives & Special Collections requires written
permission of the Head of Archives & Special Collections.
Preferred Citation The Chuinard (Eldon) Publication Files for Only One Man Died,
OLPb014CHU, Lewis & Clark College Aubrey Watzek Library Archives &
Special Collections, Portland, Oregon.
