Fort Vancouver Historic Structures Report

History and location

The building known by 1845 as the "Priests' House" was situated immediately south of the Owyhee Church in the northeastern quadrant of the fort enclosure as it existed after the enlargement of about 1836. In this position it lay about forty feet directly west of the Big House and about forty-eight feet east of the New Office. These three structures--the New Office, the Priests' House, and the Big House--were all approximately on the same line, and together they formed the north boundary of the eastern segment of the fort courtyard.

The footings of the Priests' House were uncovered during archeological excavations in 1948. It was then determined that the north end of the structure lay about fifty-three feet south of the northernmost line of the north stockade wall. [1] The location of the Priests' House is now designated Building No. 16 on the site plan of Fort Vancouver National Historic Site.

The historical record appears to be silent concerning the origin of this structure. Because it was in the eastern half of the fort, which was not enclosed until about 1836, it undoubtedly was not erected prior to that date. But construction must have followed soon thereafter. The Emmons ground plan of mid-1841 identifies the later Priests' House as the "Chaplains' or Governors temporary residence" (Plate III, vol. I). As far as is known the only time the "Governor," as McLaughlin was frequently termed, could have occupied the Priests' House was during the winter of 1837-38, when the Big House was being reconstructed on its new site. This new "Commander's residence," as Emmons termed it, was completed and occupied by March 19, 1838.

It seems probable, then, that the Priests' House was erected not very long before the winter of 1837-38. Its first use, seemingly, was as a temporary residence for Chief Factor John McLoughlin and his family. Perhaps other officers were housed there also, because quarters seem to have been at a premium during this period of rather extensive building activity.

The next occupants of the "Governors temporary residence" are not known for certain. They may have been the unhappy Reverend Herbert Beaver and his snobbish wife, Jane. Ever since their arrival at Fort Vancouver during September 1836 this Anglican chaplain and his consort had complained bitterly about their lodgings. Almost surely, however, the small house they shared during most of their stay with one or more of the Company's gentlemen was not the later Priests' House. The description of the parsonage does not match that of the latter structure. [2] Furthermore, as has been discussed, the Priests' House seems to have been occupied by others.

But after the new Big House had been completed and after Chief Factor McLoughlin had left the depot in March 1838 to go on furlough, there is a slight possibility that James Douglas may have attempted to alleviate the Beavers' discomfort by moving them into the at least partially vacated "Governors temporary residence." If such was the case, the chaplain and his wife did not achieve their wish of having a house to themselves, because on October 8, 1838, by which time the Beavers had decided to return to England on the vessel sailing early in November, Douglas stated that if the clergyman had been patient six weeks longer he would have been able to "withdraw Mr. McLeod, the only person who has this summer occasionally occupied one end of Mr. Beavers dwelling, and the whole house would then have been in his possession." [3] The general tone of Douglas's remarks, however, would tend to indicate that until the Beavers left Fort Vancouver they continued to inhabit the same parsonage that had caused them so much despair in the past.

The only reason for believing that the Beavers may have inhabited the later Priests' House before their departure is a highly uncertain one. On November 24, 1838, Fathers Francois Norbert Blanchet and Modeste Demers, the first Catholic priests to be stationed permanently in the Oregon Country, arrived at Fort Vancouver after a harrowing overland journey from Canada. As Father Blanchet later recorded, the priests were warmly welcomed by James Douglas and "were lodged in the room which Mr. Beaver and lady had left three weeks before far England." [4] These words by no means can be considered as evidence that the Beavers had lived in the later Priests' House, because it is not known which building was assigned to Fathers Blanchet and Demers upon their arrival. Yet the possibility that the name "Priests' House" originated with this first assignment of quarters cannot be entirely overlooked. [5]

As a matter of fact, it is not known when the Roman Catholic priests were assigned the former "Governors temporary residence" as their lodgings when at the fort. It may not have been until after Dr. McLoughlin returned from Europe in the fall of 1839. The use of the name "Chaplains' or Governors temporary residence" for the structure by Emmons in 1841 may or may not indicate that the Catholic clergymen were then residing there when at Vancouver. The only certainty seems to be that by August 22, 1845, the name "Priests house" was in common usage about the post, a fact demonstrating that the Catholic fathers had been domiciled in the building for some time. [6]

The story of the origins of the Catholic missions in the Oregon Country and of the work conducted by Fathers Blanchet and Demers and by the reinforcements that arrived periodically during the next decade is much too complicated a subject to be covered in this study. Suffice it to state that the first priests were transported across the mountains by the Company with the understanding that their principal mission was to be at Cowlitz Farm north of the Columbia and that they would not establish themselves south of the river in the Willamette Valley.

Although the Catholic missionaries were given a church and a residence within the pickets at Fort Vancouver, though they ministered to the Catholic servants of the Company, and although they were some times referred to as "chaplains," they were not employees of the Hudson's Bay Company. They were not regularly appointed chaplains in the sense that the Reverend Mr. Beaver had been. They were fed and housed by the Company while at the firm's posts, but their chief financial support came from the Association for the Propagation of the Faith in Canada and in Europe and from contributions from abroad and from the settlers of Oregon. At the recommendation of Governor Simpson, the Council for the Northern Department in 1842 voted to make an allowance of L100 to the "Catholic Mission" on the Columbia, and this appropriation was made annually for a number of years there after. But the priests were not required to render any specific service in return, and they were free to preach to the Indians or to the Company's employees as they saw f it. [7]

Almost immediately after their arrival at Fort Vancouver Fathers Blanchet and Demers began to minister to the Catholic employees at the depot and to their families. But before the end of December Blanchet left to begin a mission in the Willamette Valley, confident that Dr. McLoughlin would succeed in getting the Company's restrictions in that respect eased. During the spring of 1839 he went off again to open the mission at the Cowlitz. While there he learned that a Protestant missionary was on his way to Fort Nisqually to work among the Indians, so he quickly dispatched a native to call Father Demers from Vancouver in order to "plant the true seed in the hearts of the Indians" at Nisqually. [8]

Thus was established a pattern of operations that was followed by priests in subsequent years--periodic residences at Fort Vancouver interrupted by long journeys to carry their religious message to Company employees at the distant outposts and to the Indians. During the next several years there were long intervals, particularly during the summers, when there were no priests at the depot. [9]

For a year Fathers Blanchet and Demers considered Fort Vancouver their "chief residence," because there were no structures suitable for permanent occupancy at Cowlitz. [10] But on October 9, 1839, James Douglas informed the priests that the Company no longer objected to the establishment of a Catholic mission on the Willamette. The very next day the two men left for their "winter quarters," Demers to the Cowlitz and Blanchet to the Willamette). [11] Soon thereafter Father Blanchet came to regard the Catholic Mission at St. Paul in the Willamette Valley as his "ordinary residence," and because he was the leader of the delegation, that place was regarded as headquarters for the priests possibly until 1846 when a church was opened at Oregon City or possibly until 1847 when Blanchet, by then an archbishop, fixed upon the latter structure as his procathedral. [12]

Meanwhile, the Company's French-Canadian servants at Fort Vancouver and their families had been complaining that the long absences of the priests from the depot resulted in their "not being served at all." [13] The arrival of two young secular priests, Antoine Langlois and Jean Baptiste Bolduc, by sea from Canada during September 1842 enabled Father Blanchet to remedy this situation somewhat. Thereafter a missionary was frequently in residence at Fort Vancouver, though still not continuously.

Probably the missionaries were living in the Priests' House by that date. Ordinarily they took their meals in their own residence, the food being brought from the Big House kitchen. Only occasionally did they eat with the Company's gentlemen in the mess hall. They were attended by a servant assigned especially to serve them. [14]

During the absences of the priests, and evidently sometimes while they were present, visitors and possibly even employees were housed in their residence. It is known, for instance, that during the summer of 1841 visiting Lt. George Foster Emmons of the United States Exploring Expedition was transferred by Dr. McLoughlin from the Bachelors' Quarters to the "Chaplains' or Governors temporary residence" in order to make him more comfortable. [15] Perhaps, as has been discussed in the chapter on the Bachelors' Quarters, the structure with the French windows and the bunks in which Lt. Charles Wilkes was lodged earlier during that same year was the Priests' House. [16] It is also possible that the private sitting room and the two bedrooms in which the British officers Warre and Vavasour spent the winter of 1845-46 were in this same structure. [17] And it may well be imagined that the Roman Catholic clergymen, including the well-known Father Peter DeSmet, S. J., who paused occasionally at Fort Vancouver as they went about their labors in the Pacific Northwest, found welcome shelter in the Priests' House.

On May 31, 1846, a new, Company-built Roman Catholic church situated outside the pickets of Fort Vancouver was dedicated. During that same year a small vestry for the priest was completed near this place of worship, but for one reason or another the clergymen occupied it only rarely, if at all, down to about 1850 or 1851.

Information concerning the living quarters of the Catholic missionaries between 1846 and about 1851 is vague and contradictory. Seemingly the Priests' House was still employed for this purpose, particularly through 1848, but less frequently than before. The missionaries sometimes lived in a small house they had purchased in the nearby village; occasionally they accepted hospitality in the homes of their parishioners, or, often, they occupied rooms in the Big House. In June 1848 the Protestant minister, the Reverend George H. Atkinson, found that the Catholic priest had "a part of Mr. Ogden's House," while Kanaka William had "one in the rear." [18] Unfortunately, it is not known where Chief Factor Peter Skene Ogden was living at that time. Either he was sharing the Big House with Chief Factor Douglas or, as seems possible from Atkinson's remark that William lived "in the rear," he was occupying the Priests' House. [19] According to at least one witness, the Catholic priests lived largely outside the stockade after 1848 and only visited in the fort for a few days at a time when invited to do so by the Company's officers. [20]

By 1849 the Priests' House was described by an army officer as "Quarters for sub-agents," indicating that it was being used at least mainly as a residence for subordinate officers of the Company. [21] James Allan Grahame, a clerk who was appointed a chief trader in 1854, was living in the building in January 1854 and probably continued to occupy that structure even after he was placed in charge of the post during 1858. The day after the Company abandoned Fort Vancouver on June 14, 1860, a board of army officers described the former Priests' House as a "Dwelling-house, formerly occupied by Mr. Graham, in a ruinous condition." [22] The subsequent fate of the structure is unknown, but within five years it had disappeared with the rest of the fort buildings. [23]

Priests in residence, Outfit 1845. In 1855 Archbishop Blanchet testified that Father Jean Nobili, S. J., was placed in charge of the mission at Fort Vancouver on September 19, 1844, and continued in charge until June 1845. He was then replaced by Father Peter DeVos, S. J., who remained in charge until May 1847. [24] Independent sources confirm this statement, although there were a few short gaps in Father DeVos's residence, and other priests occasionally officiated in the Catholic chapel within the stockade.

When Father Pierre Jean DeSmet returned to Fort Vancouver on May 17, 1845, after a visit to the Flatheads and Pend d'Oreilles, he found Father Nobili there and reported that the priest had been at the mission for eight months studying the native languages as well as ministering to both the Company's employees and the Indians. [25] Jean Nobili was an Italian and a member of the Society of Jesus. He had been recruited for Oregon by Father DeSmet during the latter's trip to Europe in 1843 and had arrived at Vancouver in the brig Infatigable on August 6, 1844. [26]

Father Nobili remained at Fort Vancouver until about June 25, 1845, because he officiated at a baptism on that date. [27] Prior to his departure he conducted the "first Laymen's Retreat given in the Pacific Northwest" for about fifty Canadians and Catholic Indians belonging to the interior brigade. [28]

Father Peter DeVos, S. J., was a Belgian whom DeSmet had found in the midwest and persuaded to join the mission beyond the Rockies. [29] Church records show that he reached Fort Vancouver from the Willamette Valley as early as June 13 to relieve Father Nobili and that, except for a short trip to Fort George and at least two others to the Willamette Valley, he remained at the depot quite steadily through the end of Outfit 1845 on May 31, 1846, after which date his activities are not of immediate interest for the purposes of this study. [30]

During the outfit other priests occasionally officiated in the Catholic chapel at Fort Vancouver. Father Antoine Langlois, a secular priest from Canada who, as has been seen, reached Oregon by sea in 1842, arrived at the depot from Cowlitz on September 6, 1845. The next day he officiated in the church and on September 14 and 15 he per formed two baptisms and a marriage. [31] On May 5, 1846, Father Michael Accolti, S. J., baptized an infant girl, the daughter of Charles Baron, the depot carpenter. Two days later he left for Oregon City. [32] Several other priests were "comers and goers" during the year, but only Fathers Nobili and DeVos can be considered residents.

Construction details

a. Dimensions and footings. When scaled out on all versions of the 1845 ground plan by Lieutenant Vavasour, the Priests' House is repre sented as measuring approximately fifty by thirty feet (Plates [VI, [VII, [VIII, vol. I). The 1846-47 inventory of Company property includes "1 Dwelling house, 50 x 30 ft., lined & ceiled," which could only have been the Priests' House because it is the only structure listed with dimensions matching those of the Priests' House as shown by Vavasour and as revealed by archeological excavations. [33]

In 1948 archeologists working under the direction of Mr. Louis R. Caywood uncovered the footings at all four corners of Building No. 16. As reported by Mr. Caywood, "the overall measurements from the outsides of the footings" were 51 by 30-1/2 feet. The map of his excavations, however, shows the dimensions from about the centers of the footings as about 50 by 30-1/2 feet. [34] All things considered, the inventory figures of 50 by 30 feet would seem to be about correct for the outside dimensions of the Priests' House.

The archeologists were not so successful in finding the wall footings in 1948. Eight wooden blocks of "various" shapes, counting the corner footings, were uncovered along the south wall, but only about three or four of them were spaced at the ten-foot intervals usual in Canadian-style construction. The remaining footings may have been disturbed; certainly some of the blocks found were repair footings. On the west wall, in addition to the corner footings, two definite wooden blocks were found, one on each side of a central fireplace foundation; other pieces of wood discovered in this wall may represent fragments of sills or parts of footings. The north and east walls produced few blocks that can definitely be identified as footings in place, but long sections of what apparently were sills were revealed.

All footings were of Douglas fir and badly rotted. They were from two to three inches thick and varied in width from six to eighteen inches. Perhaps the most interesting feature is that they were placed about six inches below the 1830s ground level. Thus if the sills rested directly on the footings, they were partially buried. It seems probable from the 1860 photograph of the Priests' House, however, that the sills were slightly above ground level, in which case they must have rested on blocks of wood that, in turn, rested on the footings (see Plate [LXVI). Additional archeological excavations might throw more light upon this matter.

Two areas of stone, brick, and plaster foundation were also found, one each at the centers of the west and east walls. The foundation on the west was four feet from north to south and about the same distance from west to east, but it was not completely excavated in the latter direction. The foundation in the east wall measured four by five feet, the east-west dimension being the longer. In addition, some scattered loose stones were found along the west wall of the building. [35]

The foundation on the west is known to have been for a fireplace (see Plate [LXVI). Mr. Caywood believed that the one on the east was a platform for a stove. [36] This assumption may be correct, because nothing that can be identified as a chimney can be seen on the east side of the building in the Coode sketch.

b. General construction. Although the written record contains very little information about the physical structure of the Priests' House, the gap, at least as regards the exterior of the building, is quite adequately filled by the excellent views contained in the Coode sketch and the 1860 photograph (Plate [XII, vol. I; Plate [LXVI).

These pictures show the Priests' House to have been of basic Canadian-style construction, weatherboarded in the front only. The building was one story high, and if there was a garret it seems to have been low, with no windows. The roof was hipped and covered with shingles.

In the 1860 photograph the sills appear to rest on the ground toward the south end of the structure but seem to be raised on low blocks toward the rear. Possibly by that date the supporting blocks in front had rotted sufficiently to permit the sills to sag to ground level.

Walls. A Canadian-style building measuring fifty by thirty feet could be expected to have five bays of horizontal infill logs on the long walls and three on the short ones. The spacing of the door and window openings across the front of the Priests' House proves that, beneath the weatherboarding, the wall was of this traditional design. As the 1860 photograph clearly reveals, the west wall also had the expected three bays, but with modifications due to the chimney. The two end bays apparently were slightly smaller than normal--perhaps only 9-1/2 feet or a bit more between the centers of the uprights--while the middle bay was slightly larger.

This middle bay was divided into three approximately equal parts. In the center was the chimney, evidently about three feet wide, flanked on each side by an upright grooved timber. Short, horizontal timbers filled the spaces between these uprights and the regular uprights flanking the center bay.

Apparently the walls rose about 13-1/2 feet from the tops of the sills to the tops of the plates, but architects will be better able to scale the dimensions from the photograph than the writer. The tops of the tall windows seem to have been from nine to ten feet above the sills. The ground-floor ceiling beams must have rested on, or been morticed into, the lintels above the windows, leaving little wall above the beams to form the sides of a garret.

From the photograph, the wall timbers could have been either sawed or hewn. No chinking is visible.

Roof. The design of the hipped roof is perfectly evident from the pictures. The Coode watercolor shows that in 1846-47 the roof was covered with shingles, but larger shingles than those on the Big House. Probably they were hand-split, drawknife-finished shakes of the usual thirty-six-inch length, with perhaps sixteen to twenty-four inches exposed to the weather.

There appear to have been ridge and hip boards in 1860, but the situation in 1845-46 in this regard is unknown. Probably the boards were present. There evidently were no gutters or even drip boards over the doors.

Chimneys. The 1860 photograph reveals the shape and size of the chimney in the west wall quite clearly. What is not so evident, however, is the material of which the chimney is made. As has been seen, the foundation of this chimney was a combination of "stone, brick and plaster." [37] From the photograph, the remainder of the flue may have been constructed of the same materials. What apparently are random-sized stones seem to be visible in the lower portion, while the narrower section above the roof was made of either smaller stones or bricks.

By 1860 the chimney evidently had at one time been painted white or whitewashed. But in 1846-47, as proved by the Coode watercolor, the Priests' House was unpainted, and almost certainly the chimney, though not visible, was likewise without paint.

As is evident from the foundation, there must have been a chimney of some sort on the east wall as well. Because nothing that can be identified positively as a chimney on that side of the building can be observed in the available pictures, it seems impossible to make a valid assumption. If Mr. Caywood was correct in identifying the foundation as the base for a stove, the only chimney may have been a metal stove pipe. Mr. Caywood did not explain his reasons for coming to this conclusion, but perhaps additional archeological studies will provide a mare detailed description of this feature.

Doors. The Emmons ground plan of 1841 (Plate [III, vol. I) shows two entrances to the "Chaplains' or Governors temporary residence," one centered in each of the north and south walls. From the 1860 photo graph it seems most likely that this continued to be the case as long as the building stood.

Unfortunately, the front or south door seems to have been either open or recessed when the camera was trained on it, and thus no con struction details are known. If the writer is correct in his estimates, however, the visible door opening was about nine feet high or even slightly higher. Should such prove to be the case when architects work out the scale for measuring the building, there must have been a transom or light over the door, but it must have been recessed sufficiently to escape the camera's eye. The Coode watercolor (in which the Priests' House is shown as the second building from the right, Plate [XII, vol. I) seems to show a three-pane transom over the front door, but the picture is not sufficiently distinct to permit any certain identification of this feature.

Lacking definite data, it perhaps would be safe to assume that the front door was of the six-panel variety. It is also likely that the rear door was of similar design, with a transom above. There seem to have been two low steps before the front door, the bottom one being somewhat wider than that on tap.

Windows. As can be observed in the 1860 photograph, there were four windows on the front wall of the Priests' House and two on the west wall. Almost surely the same pattern was repeated on the opposite walls.

The design and positioning of the tall casement windows are also evident from the photograph. There were no shutters.

Exterior finish. It is not known if the Priests' House was weatherboarded in front as early as 1845-46. The Coode watercolor is not sufficiently detailed to shed light on this subject.

It is possible that such was the case, both from the standpoint of providing more protection from the prevailing southerly rains and for the sake of appearance, because the Big House, the Priests' House, and the New Office formed the "dress front" on the north side of the fort courtyard. On the other hand, it is almost certain that the front of the Priests' House was not painted at that time, and perhaps it remained unpainted until weatherboards were added at a later date. However, it was not unusual for weatherboarded structures to be left without paint at Hudson's Bay Company posts (see Plate [LXVII). Thus the writer is inclined to suggest that the front of the re constructed Priests' House be covered with weatherboards as shown in the 1860 photograph. The remaining three walls undoubtedly were not weatherboarded.

The original copy of the Coode watercolor in the Hudson's Bay Company archives shows the Priests' House as being dark brown in color, but not as reddish a dark brown as the Old Office. This fact leads to the assumption that as late as 1846-47 the exterior walls of the building remained unpainted. The door and the door and window trim were Spanish brown in color, while the window sash, including that in the transom, was white.

c. Interior finish and arrangement. All that is known for certain about the interior of the Priests' House is that the structure was "lined & ceiled" and that there was a fireplace at the center of the west wall and either a stove or a fireplace (probably the former) at the center of the east wall. Because the structure seems to have been built as the chief factor's temporary residence and as a dwelling for officers and important guests, it is probable that the interior finish was about the same as that of the Big House--unpainted vertical board paneling, chair rails, and planed floors.

The fireplaces, if indeed there were more than one, were most likely of the French-Canadian type illustrated in Plates XLIII and XLIV. The stove, if there was one, undoubtedly was a "Canadian stove," either single or double, and was probably made by Carron.

It is probable that access to the garret was through a trapdoor accessible by a ladder brought in when the occasion demanded. Garrets of the type found in the Priests' House were used by the Company for the seasoning of lumber and similar purposes.

As far as is known at present, there is no information whatever available concerning the interior room arrangement. It is scarcely likely, however, that a dwelling of fifty by thirty feet would have been designed as quarters for a single family. It seems most likely, then, that the interior was divided into at least two suites, each consisting of a sitting/dining room and two bedrooms.

One of many possible room arrangements to provide such accommodations might consist of a narrow hall extending through the building from front to rear doors. On each side of this hall there might be, in front, a sitting room of about twenty-two by sixteen feet, off of which, in the rear, open two small bedrooms. In this case the fireplaces or fireplace and stove would be in corners. Evidently the "house of the gentleman in charge" at York Factory during the 1830s was arranged on a somewhat similar pattern. [38]

Furnishings

Apparently no information is available concerning the furnishings of the Priests' House unless the Company-owned articles therein were included in the inventories of the "Bachelors Hall & No 1, 2, 3, 4, 5" already reproduced in Chapter IV. About all that could be done in refurnishing under these circumstances would be to employ a selection of the same types of chairs, beds, tables, sofas, and other furnishings as described for the Bachelors' Quarters.

There would, of course, be a few distinctive touches to indicate the status of the inhabitants. For instance, the "2 prs. bunting bed Curtains" listed in the 1845 Bachelors' Hall inventory might well have been actually in the Priests' House, because probably only special guests like the clergy would have been accorded such a luxury by the Company. Religious habits, pictures, and objects might further serve to reveal the occupation of the inhabitants of at least one half of the house. There would also be a table and utensils for dining in the priests' quarters.

Recommendations

a. It is important that the entire site of the Priests' House be excavated, primarily to learn more about the extent and nature of the chimney foundations.

b. Because the Priests' House was a key feature in the historic scene surrounding the courtyard, it is recommended that it be reconstructed. It is suggested that the construction data provided in this chapter be followed as closely as possible. In certain aspects, such as the chimney on the east side of the building, however, an educated guess will have to be made by the architects on the basis of any additional information that might result from further archeological explorations.

c. It probably would not be necessary or desirable to refurnish this structure completely. It is suggested that only the sitting room and one bedroom in the priests' quarters be refurnished and exhibited. The doors to the remaining rooms could be kept closed.

1. Caywood, Final Report, Excavation Drawings, sheet 8.

2. For information about the Beavers and their housing, see the sources cited in Hussey, History of Fort Vancouver, pp. 180-81; and Beaver, Reports and Letters, passim.

3. Beaver, Reports and Letters, p. 140.

4. Blanchet, Historical Sketches, p. 24.

5. Lieutenant Emmons in 1841, it will be recalled, identified the later Priests' House as the "Chaplains' . . . residence." The only official, Company-employed chaplain ever to reside at Fort Vancouver was Herbert Beaver, a fact that might be interpreted as indicating that the Beavers had lived in the Priests' House. But the term "chaplain" could have been employed by visitors to indicate one of the Catholic priests, even though the latter were never officially chaplains to the Company's establishments.

6. Lowe, "Private Journal," p. 22.

7. See sources cited in Hussey, History of Fort Vancouver, pp. 176-78. For a use of the term "chaplains" for the priests, see Deposition of Forbes Barclay, MS, G.L.O., Old Townsites, Docket I (165), Box No. 31, in National Archives.

8. Blanchet, Historical Sketches, p. 32.

9. Ibid., pp. 27—37.

10. Notices & Voyages of the Famed Quebec Mission to the Pacific Northwest, Being the Correspondence, Notices, etc. of Fathers Blanchet and Demers, together with those of Fathers Bolduc and Langlois . . . 1838 to 1847, trans. Carl Landerholm (Portland: Oregon Historical Society, 1956), p. 25.

11. Blanchet, Historical Sketches, p. 37.

12. Notices & Voyages, p. 144; Wilfred P. Schoenberg, A Chronicle of the Catholic History of the Pacific Northwest, 1743-1960 ([Portland ?,] 1962), pp. 20, 23.

13. Notices & Voyages, p. 168.

14. Deposition of Forbes Barclay, G.L.O., Old Townsites, Docket I (165), Box No. 31, in National Archives; Affidavit of Joseph Petrain, October 25, 1873, MS, in ibid.; Wilkes, "Diary," Washington Historical Quarterly 16 (July, 1925): 219.

15. Emmons, "Journal," 3: entry for July 27, 1841.

16. Wilkes, "Diary," Washington Historical Quarterly 16 (July, 1925): 220.

17. Warre, "Travel and Sport in North America, 1839-1846," p. 137.

18. Rockwood, "Diary of Rev. George H. Atkinson," Oregon Historical Quarterly 40 (June, 1939): 181.

19. It is known that Ogden was living in the Big House by October 1, 1849, but he may not have moved in until James Douglas transferred to Fort Victoria earlier that same year. D. H. Vinton to P. F. Smith Fort Vancouver, October 1, 1849, in Br. & Am. Joint Comm. Papers, [9:]133.

20. Affidavit of Joseph Petrain, October 25, 1873, G.L.O., Old Townsites, Docket I (165), Box No. 31, in National Archives. Except where otherwise indicated, this account of where the priests lived between 1846 and about 1851 is based on the sources cited in Hussey, History of Fort Vancouver, p. 182.

21. Vinton to Smith, Fort Vancouver, October 1, 1849, in Br. & Am. Joint Comm., Papers, [9:]133.

22. Br.& Am. Joint Comm., Papers, [9:]75-77.

23. Except where otherwise indicated, this sketch of the Priests' House, 1849-60, is based on sources cited in Hussey, History of Fort Vancouver, p. 182.

24. Affidavit of the Most Reverend Francis Norbert Blanchet, [Vancouver], 1855, MS, G.L.O., Old Townsites, Docket I (165), Box No. 31, in National Archives.

25. Lowe, "Private Journal," p. 17; Pierre Jean de Smet, Oregon Missions and Travels over the Rocky Mountains, in 1845-46 (New York, 1847), p. 96.

26. Schoenberg, A Chronicle of Catholic History, p. 16; Warner and Munnick, Catholic Church Records, p. A-59; A biography of Father Nobili appeared in the San Francisco Herald (San Francisco, California), March 20, 1856.

27. Warner and Munnick, Catholic Church Records, Vancouver II, p. 60.

28. Schoenberg, A Chronicle of Catholic History, p. 18.

29. Warner and Munnick, Catholic Church Records, p. A-21.

30. Lowe, "Private Journal," pp. 27, 28, 29, 31, 32, 33, 40; Schoenberg, A Chronicle of Catholic History, pp. 17, 20, 21; Warner and Munnick, Catholic Church Records, Vancouver II, pp. 60-73; Lieutenant Warre noted that Father DeVos "constantly" resided at the fort during the winter of 1845-46. Warre, "Travel and Sport in North America, 1839-1846," p. 138.

31. Lowe, "Private Journal," p. 24; Warner and Munnick, Catholic Church Records, Vancouver II, pp. 61-62.

32. Lowe, "Private Journal," p. 38; Warner and Munnick, Catholic Church Records, Vancouver II, p. 73.

33. H.B.C.A., B.223/z/5, MS, fol. 265.

34. Caywood, Final Report, p. 14, and Excavation Drawings, sheet 8.

35. Description of footings and foundations based on Caywood, Final Report, pp. 14-15, and Excavation Drawings, sheet 8.

36. Ibid., p. 41.

37. Ibid., p. 14.

38. "Room Layouts in 'Big Houses' at Hudson's Bay Company Posts," typescript, (n.p., n.d.), p. 5.