The monument honors Charles Floyd, a member of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, who died on the upstream voyage in 1804 and was buried here.

In those days, appendicitis was almost invariably fatal; while appendectomies had been performed as early as 1735, they were extremely hazardous and agonizing, and unfamiliar to most doctors of the era.

By 1857, erosion had caused much of Floyd's grave—even the original cedar post marker left by the crew of the expedition—to slide into the river and wash away.

Concerned citizens rescued most of his skeleton, including his skull, and re-buried it 200 meters east of the original burial site.

Stone, John H. Charles, George D. Perkins, C. R. Marks, and G. W. Wakefield established the Floyd Association to erect a monument.

[6] Floyd's final resting place is located on old U.S. Highway 75, in the southern part of Sioux City, Iowa.