FORT VANCOUVER The History of Fort Vancouver and its Physical Structure

The Hudson's Bay Company vacated Fort Vancouver in 1860. Six years later a visitor noted that only one "little rick of rotten hay and straw" remained to show where the emporium of the western fur trade had stood. The location was then within the boundaries of the Vancouver Barracks Military Reservation, and during subsequent years, as the land was used for a succession of military purposes and as various new buildings were erected upon it, the outlines of the old fort were obliterated, and memory of it began to fade.

A turning point in the story of the site came in 1925, when the centennial of Fort Vancouver's establishment was celebrated with ceremonies and festivities. Evidently as a result of enthusiasm generated on that occasion, a movement was started by local civic and patriotic groups and by interested citizens throughout the Pacific Northwest for the preservation of the site. The Fort Vancouver Restoration and Historical Society was organized in 1940, and, in conjunction with the Washington State Historical Society, the Oregon Historical Society, and other supporting organizations and individuals, it conducted a vigorous campaign for national recognition of Fort Vancouver's significance. The opportunity for decisive action came in 1946 when a large part of the military reservation was declared surplus to the needs of the Army. Public Law 715, 80th Congress, approved on June 19, 1948, authorized the establishment of Fort Vancouver National Monument to preserve the site and to commemorate the importance of Fort Vancouver in the settlement and development of the Pacific Northwest. Actual establishment was accomplished by Secretarial Order published in the Federal Register of July 9, 1954.

>During the boundary studies which preceded the authorization of Fort Vancouver National Monument it became apparent that the exact location of the old fur-trading post had been lost. Existing maps and pioneer residents could indicate the general site of the stockade, but they could not provide the pin-pointing needed before the boundary lines could be drawn. It was largely to solve this problem that a Congressional conference committee requested that part of the National Park Service appropriation for the 1948 fiscal year be utilized for an archeological exploration. This work was begun on September 17, 1947, under the direction of Mr. Louis R. Caywood, and it resulted in the finding of all four stockade corners.

>At about the same time the National Park Service launched a historical investigation, primarily to provide an organized collection of facts concerning the physical structure of Fort Vancouver which would aid in interpreting the evidence uncovered during the archeological excavations. It was also hoped that the results would be useful in planning future excavations and as a guide in the designing of museum exhibits, scale models, and other interpretive facilities at the proposed national monument.

The present book is a product of that historical investigation. It was first issued in 1949 as a mimeographed National Park Service report entitled Preliminary Survey of the History and Physical Structure of Fort Vancouver. The National Park Service has made this original report available to the Washington State Historical Society for the purpose of bringing out the present edition.

As the gathering of data relating to the fort structures progressed, it was found that many of the facts had little meaning without reference to the history of the Hudson's Bay Company and, in particular, to the history of Fort Vancouver as a fur-trading post, depot, and headquarters for all of the firm's activities west of the Rocky Mountains. Also, a mere compilation of the details of the physical structure of the establishment failed to provide any adequate indication of the great historical significance of Fort Vancouver.

Most of the available histories of the Pacific Northwest, of Oregon, and of Washington contain discussions of the rule of the Hudson's Bay Company on the Pacific Coast, and some treat Fort Vancouver in considerable detail; also, many special studies of specific phases of these subjects have been published. But no single account was found which provided the background necessary for a proper understanding of the story of Fort Vancouver's physical structure. It was necessary, therefore, to prepare such a general historical account, and it forms the first section of this book. The material relating to the physical structure will be found in the second section.

No pretense is made that the first part of this study constitutes a complete or well-balanced history of Fort Vancouver. In general, only those topics are treated which contribute directly to an understanding of points mentioned in the second section. Particular attention has been paid to the administrative history of the post, since information on this subject, especially for the years after 1846, is not readily available elsewhere.

Because of the limited time allotted for its preparation, the present report must, necessarily, be considered only as a preliminary study. This fact is particularly true in view of the materials upon which it is based. The amount of printed and manuscript source material relating to the Hudson's Bay Company and to Fort Vancouver is so great in bulk that it was not possible to exhaust even the research possibilities available in the United States. In addition, the greater part of the original records relating to the post are deposited in the archives of the Hudson's Bay Company in London. Although the Company has published a number of documents which shed much light upon the history of Fort Vancouver and although the Governor and Committee have been more than generous in aiding the present study by supplying excerpts from their archival materials, there remains a limit to what can be done without direct access to the original sources.

In preparing the present edition, changes have been made in the original text in an attempt to incorporate information which has come to light since the investigation formally terminated in 1948. In particular, a number of items have been added to the bibliography. The most important alterations, however, were those made necessary by the findings of a series of additional archeological excavations conducted by the National Park Service at Fort Vancouver during 1948, 1950, and 1952. Under the expert direction of Mr. Louis R. Caywood, these explorations uncovered remains of stockade walls and building foundations which threw a great deal of light upon the history of the fort's physical development. To Mr. Caywood's excellent reports on the work and to the fine maps and illustrations contained therein, the present study owes much.

Many persons and institutions have contributed to the preparation of this book, and to them all the writer acknowledges a debt of gratitude. Dr. V. Aubrey Neasham, former Regional Historian, Region Four, of the National Park Service and now Historian for the California Division of Beaches and Parks, initiated and guided the research. Mr. Louis R. Caywood, now Superintendent of Ocmulgee National Monument, Georgia, freely imparted the knowledge gained from his excavations and contributed a number of excellent photographs.

Dr. Burt Brown Barker, of Portland, Oregon, and Mr. Howard J. Burnham, of Vancouver, Washington, were extremely helpful to the writer during his visits to those cities and permitted the examination of valuable historical materials in their possession. Use of the splendid collections of the Oregon Historical Society was facilitated by the unfailing kindness of Mr. Lancaster Pollard, former Superintendent; Mr. Thomas Vaughan, present Director; and other members of the Society's staff, particularly Miss Priscilla Knuth.

The greater part of the research for this study was conducted at the Bancroft Library, University of California. Dr. George P. Hammond, Director, and his staff were, as ever, exceedingly helpful. In Washington, D. C., the work was made easier, more fruitful, and more pleasant by the kindness of Mr. Ronald F. Lee, now Chief, Division of Interpretation; Mr. Herbert E. Kahler, now Chief Historian; and other members of the History Branch, National Park Service. Particular thanks are due to Mr. Rogers W. Young, who arranged entree for the writer into a number of Governmental offices, and to Dr. Charles W. Porter, III, who suggested methods of presenting the material gathered.

Because their number is legion, it is impossible to mention by name each of the members of the staffs of the Library of Congress, the National Archives, the Smithsonian Institution, the Department of the Interior, the Department of State, and the Office of Chief of Engineers who aided in searching out the source materials relating to Fort Vancouver; but to each of them the writer expresses his appreciation. Special mention, however, must be given to Mr. Richard S. Patterson, of the Division of Historical Policy Research, Department of State, who made available important material from a then unpublished volume of the Department's Treaty Series.

The late Mrs. Alice B. Maloney shared her intimate knowledge of the activities of the Hudson's Bay Company on the Pacific Coast. Colonel Fred B. Rogers, U.S.A. (retired), supplied valuable references relating to the military history of Vancouver. Through its Librarian, Mr. James T. Babb, the Yale University Library generously supplied to the National Park Service photographic copies of pages from several manuscripts in its collections and generously granted permission to reproduce them.

Above all, the writer is indebted to the Governor and Committee of the Hudson's Bay Company, who most graciously, through Mr. J. Chadwick Brooks, former Secretary, answered a number of questions by reference to material in the Company's archives and who donated photographic copies of several maps, without which this report would have been much the poorer. Permission was kindly granted by the Governor and Committee to reproduce several maps and illustrations from the Company's archives and publications, and also to quote from documents in the Company's possession and from matter in its publications, notably The Beaver and the important Publications of the Hudson's Bay Record Society.

For assistance in preparing the index and for many other stenographic contributions special thanks are extended to Mrs. Laura D. Obwald. And, for her encouragement and patience during the preparation of the manuscript, I am, as ever, indebted to my wife, Virginia A. Hussey.

JOHN A. HUSSEY

Piedmont, California, January 9, 1957.

Frontispiece—Fort Vancouver, circa 1845. Watercolor by unknown artist, in Coe Collection of Western Americana, Yale University. From transparency in possession of First Federal Savings & Loan Association of Vancouver.