Park Archives: Fort Vancouver National Historic Site

As the 19th century dawned, the United States and Great Britain were locked in a struggle for control of North America's northern Pacific coast, a region rich in furs. By 1818 the two nations had agreed to share access to the Oregon Country, as they had come to call the region, until they could decide upon a boundary. Seven years later, in a bold move designed to anchor Britain's claim to all of Oregon, the Hudson's Bay Company—the giant fur trading organization—moved its Columbia Department headquarters from Fort George at the mouth of the Columbia to the newly established Fort Vancouver, 100 miles upstream. For the next two decades Fort Vancouver was directed by strong-willed, capable men who made it into the fur trade capital of the Pacific coast.

Primarily responsible for the post's success was Dr. John McLoughlin, an energetic man and a genius at organization who served as chief factor during most of those years. In the 1830s and 1840s American settlers were attracted to the rich farm lands of Oregon's Willamette Valley. McLoughlin made supplies and credit available to the needy settlers. This influx of Americans resulted in a division of the Oregon Country in 1846 along the 49th parallel, a decision that left—contrary to British hopes—Fort Vancouver on American soil. For a few years the Hudson's Bay Company continued to trade with the settlers and Indians, but trade diminished and the company moved out in 1860. By 1866 fires and decay had destroyed all the structures.

Long before the American West was settled, it had been crisscrossed by lone scouts and hunters and trappers searching for new untouched trapping grounds. At the center of this fur trading enterprise stood the Hudson's Bay Company and its main post, Fort Vancouver. As the vagaries of fashion carried the beaver hat to the height of popularity, the demand for that animal's fur increased enormously. From Fort Vancouver the Hudson's Bay Company sent out brigades of trappers that included from 50 to 200 men, women, and children. Trapping was hard and often dangerous work, particularly because most of it was done in the winter, when the pelts are the thickest.

The earliest trappers had adopted the Indians' method of breaking into a beaver lodge and taking the animals, but soon the steel trap came into use. The trap, designed to catch the beaver by the leg, was set in shallow water. It was attached by a chain to a sharpened stake implanted in deeper water. The traps were baited with castoreum, a scent obtained from glands in the hind legs of the beaver. All this activity was going on while the trapper stood in the water, often ice-cold, so that he did not leave his scent on the bank. The curious beaver, attracted by the castoreum, stepped into the trap. The next morning the trapper skinned his catch. Back at camp, he or his Indian wife scraped the flesh from the skins and stretched them to dry.

After almost a year in the wilderness, the trapping brigades, with their furs in tow, got ready to head back to Fort Vancouver. Joining up with one another, the brigades made their way to the Columbia and Fort Vancouver where the people awaited their arrival. It was a festive time of year, and the trappers themselves made a show of their arrival, donning their best and most colorful clothes, swaggering out of their boats, and jauntily unloading their furs. The winters in the wilderness had convinced them that they were superior to the fort's regular work force.

Now the company clerks took over, appraising the furs, paying the trappers, and preparing the furs for shipment to London. Turning the beaver pelts into the fashionable hats involved a number of steps. The hats were not made from the whole pelt as is sometimes assumed. First, the coarse guard hairs were pulled off. Then, the soft and desirable underfur was shaved off and set aside.

From experience the hatters knew how much fur was needed to make one hat. They weighed out the proper amount of fur and piled it in a small mound.

Twanging a bow string through the fur spread it out evenly and caused the microscopic hairs to hook onto one another, forming a thick but loosely structured mat of material called a "batt."

This batt was stacked with others separated by wet cloths from which the batts absorbed moisture. Two batts, which were needed for each hat, were joined together in the shape of a hood. These hoods, or hat bodies, were boiled for six to eight hours to produce the compact and tight body needed for the final step.

The body was placed on a wooden mold in the shape of a hat and carefully shaped so that it fitted smoothly. In the hatter's capable hands this step was soon completed and except for finishing touches the work was done.

In the 1830s silk hats were introduced. As the beaver population of the Northwest declined through overtrapping, silk replaced beaver on the market. By the 1860s the demand for beaver pelts had declined and the large scale commercial trapping of beavers came to an end.

Fort Vancouver was headquarters for the Hudson's Bay Company's Columbia Department, embracing present-day British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. The trading post also represented Britain's business and governmental interests in competition with the United States.

The fort's warehouses stocked supplies for the fur brigades, the Indian and settler trade, and for the 20 to 30 other Company posts in the Department. Most Indians were shrewd traders, so trade goods were carefully chosen. Almost all trade items were imported from or through Britain, so there was a two-year lapse between ordering and receiving.

The fort's shops bustled with activity, manufacturing as many items as possible. The fort echoed to the sounds of carpenters hammering and sawing, of blacksmiths making new tools and repairing old ones, and of coopers making barrels. Carts rumbled to and fro piled high with supplies and with firewood for the bakehouse's large brick ovens. Indians arrived to trade, passing by farmers and herders tending crops and livestock. Company clerks bent over account books figuring out how much who owed whom. Frequent visitors were welcomed and eagerly quizzed for news and gossip of the outside. The arrival of a supply ship or a Royal Navy vessel was cause for celebration.

Although everyone worked hard and long hours—Sunday was the only day of rest in the early years—free time was enjoyed to the fullest. Hunting, riding, picnicking, footracing, and other competitive feats of strength were favored pastimes. Once a group of naval officers produced a play, the first known theatrical performance in the Pacific Northwest.

Clerks and officers, who came from the British Isles and Canada, formed what was known as the "gentlemen" class. The working lower class, or engagés, made up most of the employees. Gentlemen and their families lived a comfortable life within the fort's palisade, while laborers lived in crude dwellings in the village.

The workers at the fort represented many nationalities. George Simpson wrote a description of a trip down the Columbia River that indicated the diversity of Fort Vancouver. "Our crew of ten men contained Iroquois who spoke their own tongue; a Cree halfbreed of French origin, who appeared to have borrowed his dialect from both his parents; a North Briton who understood only the Gaellic of his native hills; Canadians who, of course, knew French, and Sandwich (Hawaiian) Islanders, who jabbered a medley of chinook and their own vernacular jargon. Add to all this that the passengers were natives of England, Scotland, Russia, Canada, and the Hudson Bay Territories."

Since 1966 Fort Vancouver's palisade and several buildings have been reconstructed on their original locations. Together they can give you an idea of what life was like when Fort Vancouver was the most important settlement in the Pacific Northwest.

Blacksmith Shop
This shop served as the fort's principal smithy. Here blacksmiths made items of iron and steel that were needed for the fur trade. They made hardware for construction at the fort and other Hudson's Bay Company posts in the Columbia District.

Bakehouse
The bakehouse was a two-story structure set in the east wall. It contained two fire-brick ovens. As many as four men baked sea biscuits for the 200 to 300 fort employees. The biscuits were also baked for the brigades, for use by ship crews and other posts, and for trade.

Indian Trade Shop and Dispensary
In keeping with Hudson's Bay Company practice, the Indian Trade Shop was under the immediate charge of the fort's doctor. This building housed the fur trading operations at Fort Vancouver, and also the hospital, doctor's office, and the doctor's residence.

Wash House
The wash house appears on several maps of Fort Vancouver drawn in the early 1840s. Very little is known of its appearance or use.

Chief Factor's Residence
Early visitors to Fort Vancouver called the home of the post's most senior officer "very handsome" and "commodious and elegant." Built to replace an earlier structure, the Big House was impressive—with white clapboard siding and a large front veranda. Grapevines climbed on iron trellises, and two spiked cannon stood in front. Clerks and officers ate meals in a large mess hall, where parties and dances were also held.

Kitchen
Few details are known about kitchens used at Fort Vancouver over the years. The 1845 kitchen evidently contained a cooking area, pantry, a larder, and living quarters for some of the kitchen staff. The kitchen provided meals for the gentlemen of the fort and for special guests.

Fur Warehouse
The multitude of animal pelts, primarily beaver, brought to the fort were kept in stores, or warehouses. The furs were cleaned and pressed into bales before being transported to England.

Counting House
For its first 18 months this building served as quarters for Capt. Thomas Baillie of the British sloop HMS Modeste anchored at Fort Vancouver. With Baillie's departure, the building became the administrative center for the vast Columbia Department. Clerks kept records of incoming and outgoing goods, employee pay and expenditures, and completed annual reports.

Jail
Individuals who committed mostly minor crimes, such as petty theft, were confined here. The fort's Chief Factor decided punishments for violators. These included jail, fines, deportation, or even flogging.

Carpenter Shop
Three to four carpenters and several apprentices were employed at the fort. These skilled carpenters and other laborers constructed buildings for the fort. They also produced window frames and sashes, doors, furniture, carts and wagons, and wooden parts for tools.

Farming
Many of the Pacific Northwest's agricultural firsts can be traced to Fort Vancouver. Both McLoughlin and Simpson agreed that the post should be self-sufficient. Fences enclosed more than 2,500 acres. Peas, oats, barley, wheat, and vegetables fed the fort community. The Northwest's first orchard included apples, pears, peaches, plums, and cherries. Cattle, horses, sheep, hogs, and goats made up the livestock.

Palisade
Expanded at least five times, by 1845 the fort's palisade enclosed an area 734 feet by 318 feet. Douglas fir posts about 15 feet high afforded privacy as well as protection from theft and attack.

Bastion
The 1845 bastion was built to protect the fort against threats and to fire salutes to arriving ships. It was three stories high; the top floor held eight three-pounder cannons.

The Village
This community of up to 300 Company laborers was home to a culturally diverse people: French-Canadian, local American Indians, Iroquois, Europeans, and Hawaiians.

Shipping
Transportation was vital to the Hudson's Bay Company's success in the Pacific Northwest. Ocean vessels crossed the treacherous bar at the mouth of the Columbia River, bringing supplies and trade goods. On return trips they loaded the year's returns of furs, tallow, lumber, flour, salmon, and other products of the fort's economy.

Today's Fort Vancouver structures are reconstructions. Starting in 1947, archeologists have excavated the site of the original fort, recovering almost two million artifacts. Study of these objects and documentary material formed the basis for the reconstructions.

To visit the park, in the city of Vancouver, Wash., turn east off I-5 at the Mill Plain Boulevard exit and follow the signs to the visitor center on East Evergreen Boulevard. From I-205, exit at Wash. 14. Go west on Wash. 14 about six miles and take I-5 North. Exit on Mill Plain Boulevard; follow signs to the park.

Safety The ground at the fort is uneven. Don't let a slip or fall spoil your visit. Watch your children.

John McLoughlin retired to the home he built at the falls of the Willamette River after directing the fur trade at Fort Vancouver for its first and most influential 20 years. He had come to the Northwest to turn the bounty of the land into profit for the Hudson's Bay Company and to promote British interests.

McLoughlin's domain reached from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean and from Russian-held Alaska to Mexican California's northern border—a land area equal to about one-fifth of today's contiguous United States. By the time his career ended, he was famous for his efforts, intentional or not, in securing most of that territory tor Americans.

Born into a Quebec farming family in 1784, McLoughlin was 19 when he signed on as a physician for the North West Company, a British fur company. He soon worked his way up to company partner. After the merger in 1821 with the Hudson's Bay Company, also a British fur company, McLoughlin was sent to the Oregon Country to preside over the vast lands on which the organization pinned its hopes for expansion. As the chief factor (superintendent of trade), McLoughlin oversaw construction of the new headquarters at Fort Vancouver, promoted agriculture, opened new trapping routes, and took in an impressive profit. In doing business with the Indians, key players in the fur trade, he kept peace and won respect.

As successful as it was, the Hudson's Bay Company operated without a clear title to the land. The Oregon Country was caught in a tug of war between Britain and the United States. An 1818 treaty settled the dispute temporarily by establishing joint occupation. Thereafter both sides maneuvered to be in a position of strength when the treaty was to be renegotiated. McLoughlin foresaw that Britain's dominance of the region, based as it was on control of the fur trade, was doomed in the long run. The fur supply was dwindling, as was demand. In 1842 emigrant wagon trains began arriving in the Oregon Country. The presence of thousands of American settlers would inevitably tip the balance of power. Defying Company orders to discourage American settlement, McLoughlin extended credit for food, seeds, and farm tools to the newcomers, then steered them southward into the Willamette Valley. Many emigrants regarded him as a paternalistic figure who would never turn away those in need; others thought him a tyrant. But one transplanted Pennsylvanian expressed gratitude: "He is always on the lookout for an opportunity to bestow his charity, and bestows with no sparing hand."

Though kindhearted by many accounts, McLoughlin had practical reasons for his generosity. Ill treatment of weary, poor new arrivals would reflect badly on the Company. Moreover, if the Oregon Country were divided along the course of the Columbia, as the English hoped, the land to the south would cede to the United States no matter what. While the Hudson's Bay Company asserted its claim to the territory, reported one British observer: "it appears that their chief officer on the spot was doing all in his power to facilitate the operations of those whose whole object was to annihilate that claim altogether." Gov. George Simpson, the top Hudson's Bay official in North America and an old rival of McLoughlin's, battled continually with the chief factor. In 1845 McLoughlin was forced to resign. The following year the Oregon Country was divided along the 49th parallel. The Company continued to trap and trade south of the boundary for 14 years, but British notions of acquiring the land permanently were squelched.

The Hudson's Bay Company wanted furs and land, and the Columbia watershed offered both. John McLoughlin's first task as administrator of the Company's Oregon Country holdings was to build a headquarters for conducting its business of marketing the region's natural wealth. Fort Vancouver, named for the British captain who explored the Columbia River, was built on that river near the mouth of the Willamette. Living quarters, factory, storage depot, seaport: Fort Vancouver was the hub of the Northwest Coast fur trade in its early-l800s heyday. It was the administrative headquarters and supply depot for more than 20 posts in the Columbia Department. By 1845 Fort Vancouver's location near the end of the Oregon Trail placed it squarely in the path of American westward expansion, and its role in shaping Oregon's destiny had changed. Emigrants stopped here on their way to claiming Willamette Valley farmland. At this British outpost Chief Factor McLoughlin gave supplies and encouragement to the people who later came to possess much of the Oregon Country.

In 1829 Chief Factor McLoughlin and Governor Simpson claimed land along the Willamette River 25 miles south of Fort Vancouver. This was part of the Hudson's Bay Company strategy to diversify as fur supplies dwindled. McLoughlin envisioned a company town as the center for subsidiary industries. The falls were ideal for powering mills and the river convenient for shipping manufactured goods and agricultural products. McLoughlin retired from the Company before he could fully implement his plans. He placed the land in his own name in 1845 by paying the Company $20,000 for the claim and built his family home on a piece of this property.

Simple in design, with two stories and a root cellar, the house was elegant for the Willamette Valley, where most emigrant families lived in crude log cabins. It was built completely of finished lumber—local timber and prefabricated trim shipped from a Boston factory. The first floor consisted of a large parlor; dining room, reception room, and McLoughlin's office. Upstairs were three bedrooms, as well as a sitting room and a hallway that often doubled as a guest room. The kitchens were separate buildings out back.

The McLoughlin home was known locally as "the house of many beds," a reference to the hospitality the family extended to just about anyone passing through Oregon City. The steady stream of house guests included relatives, friends, business associates, new emigrants, a traveling artist, and many retired Hudson's Bay Company employees to whom McLoughlin felt a special responsibility. McLoughlin's wife Marguerite, of Cree-Swiss descent, opened her home to the needy and was thought of as "one of the kindest women in the world." Other permanent residents were daughter Eloisa and her family, and the Indian servants who had been in McLoughlin's employ at Fort Vancouver.

Known throughout the valley as "the Doctor" because of the vocation that had started him out in the fur trade, McLoughlin built a new career promoting economic prosperity for the territory he had helped establish. In part to smooth over a controversy arising from an American claim to his property at the falls, McLoughlin took U.S. citizenship in 1851. That year he served as mayor of Oregon City. To help emigrants become established McLoughlin loaned money for small commercial ventures. His own businesses included two sawmills, a grist mill, granary, general store, and shipping concern. He also donated land for schools and churches.

John McLoughlin died in 1857. His house now occupies some of the sites he set aside for public use when he helped to plat the town in the 1840s. The home is restored to honor the life and accomplishments of a man well deserving of the title "Father of Oregon."

John McLoughlin lived in this house from 1846, when he left Fort Vancouver, until he died in 1857. After Marguerite McLoughlin died in 1860 the home would change hands many times. In 1909 the McLoughlin Memorial Association saved it from demolition and moved it from near the falls to the bluff. Today the house is restored to its appearance when McLoughlin lived here. Furnishings are period pieces that belonged to the McLoughlin family, Hudson's Bay Company, or local residents.

Visiting the House and Related Sites
For days and hours of visitation, contact Fort Vancouver National Historic Site. McLoughlin House is not fully accessible to persons with disabilities. No public restrooms. The house stands in McLoughlin Park at 713 Center Street, between 7th and Bth streets.

This neighborhood is a local historic district, part of McLoughlin's original plat. At 719 Center Street is the home of Dr. Forbes Barclay, a McLoughlin associate.

McLoughlin's step-granddaughter lived in Ermatinger House, 619 6th Street. The first territorial legislature met in the late 1840s at Rose Farm, 536 Holmes Lane.

Oregon history is on exhibit at the Museum of the Oregon Territory, 211 Tumwater Drive, and at End of the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center, 1726 Washington Street.

McLoughlin House is on the Oregon National Historic Trail. Visit the website at www.nps.gov/oreg.

The Vancouver area of southwestern Washington was an important site of 19th-century social, economic, political, and military activity in the Pacific Northwest. In recognition of its historical significance, the U.S. Congress in 1948 designated a portion of the area—Fort Vancouver—as a National Monument. In 1961, Fort Vancouver became a National Historic Site. Over the next half century, continuing efforts to preserve the area's other historic sites prompted Congress to establish the Vancouver National Historic Reserve in 1996.

The 366-acre reserve and its cultural resources represent an enduring legacy of one place across time. The site's main features include Fort Vancouver National Historic Site, Vancouver Barracks and Officers Row, Pearson Field, and portions of the Columbia River waterfront. A nonprofit trust established in 1998 works with the National Park Service, State of Washington, City of Vancouver, and the U.S. Army to preserve, develop, and manage the reserve, as well as to make its history available and accessible to the public.

The Vancouver National Historic Reserve provides the opportunity for a fascinating look at the intertwining paths of native peoples, fur trappers, and settlers, military, industry, and aviation—a remarkable crossroads of human activity.

Vancouver's climate, location, and natural resources made it well suited to a variety of human endeavors. Explorer Meriwether Lewis found the area so appealing he declared it

Located between the Coast and Cascade mountain ranges, Vancouver has a damp, yet hospitable, climate. Moderate weather, combined with an abundance of natural resources and fertile land, provided ample sustenance for native peoples and settlers and later supported major agricultural production. Vancouver's favorable location on the Columbia River—just east of the river's confluence with the Willamette and 100 miles inland from the Pacific—made it significant in Pacific Northwest history. One of the world's great waterways, the Columbia brought the area's earliest explorers inland and served as the region's primary route of exploration, travel, and trade and later provided for the needs of military and aviation operations. Here, near the meeting of rivers, the paths and pursuits of many peoples also met, influenced and supported by the region's natural wealth.

Native Peoples lived along the Columbia River for thousands of years before the arrival of Europeans. People now identified as Chinook—an inclusive name describing the peoples from any of several tribes in the area—claimed the Vancouver area and along the Columbia River as part of their territory, living, a relatively peaceful existence hunting, gathering, and fishing. Late in the 18th century, outsiders in the form of sailors and traders arrived in the area, signaling changes that would forever alter their way of life.

The Chinook lived in harmony with the rhythms of time and terrain. From the Columbia's massive spring salmon runs to summer's bounty of roots and berries and the plentiful game hunted in fall and winter, the seasons determined Chinook activities. Still, it was the Columbia that proved central to their existence. Chinook not only used the river as a source of sustenance but as the primary conduit in their extensive trading system. Expert traders, they developed a vast trade network, both in terms of geography and trading partners. With the establishment of Fort Vancouver, Chinook routinely conducted business with the British Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), where many also were employed as laborers. Accounts from maritime explorers mention trade activity and other interactions with Chinook, as do the journals of Lewis and Clark.

While extensive settlement, commerce, and military activities in the Vancouver area during most of the 19th century had significant impact on the lives and cultures of native peoples, it was diseases introduced by whites—smallpox, measles, malaria, and influenza—that had the most profound and lasting effect.

Exploration The first non-native maritime exploration of the Pacific Northwest took place in the late 18th and early 19th centuries by British and American explorers. Driven by dreams of controlling trade between Europe and Asia by discovering a "Northwest Passage" across North America, England and the United States launched expeditions to the Northwest Coast. The region was first penetrated in May 1792 when Boston trader Capt. Robert Gray entered the mouth of the storied "Great River of the West" on his ship Columbia Rediviva, for which the river is named. Gray's foray a short distance up the river established a U.S. claim to the Oregon Country—a region that extended from present-day northern California to Alaska and to western Montana and Wyoming in the east.

After Gray's entry and brief exploration of the Columbia in May 1792, he gave British captain George Vancouver the simple chart he had made of the river. Vancouver had been exploring the Northwest Coast at the same time as Gray and later that year sent Lt. William Broughton to survey further up the river. On his mission, Broughton traveled 110 miles upriver and named Point Vancouver in honor of his captain.

Thirteen years later, Lewis and Clark traveled down the river from the interior, documenting in their journals and maps the area's rich bounty and peaceful native peoples. These favorable reports, combined with competition for the region's resources, proved influential in establishing settlement patterns still evident today.

Fur Trade & Commerce preceding the commercial ventures of whites, native peoples developed and implemented their own trade network in the Pacific Northwest, with trade centers located along the Columbia, including a major one at The Dalles. The Chinook people played a part in the exchange of furs for goods, both. with the Hudson's Bay Company and other Euro-American traders.

Established by the HBC in 1825 as a fur-trading post and supply depot, Fort Vancouver's position on "the only navigable River to the Interior from the Coast" made it a key player in the fur export business for more than two decades. The HBC's chief mission was to gain profits for its stockholders in England, although its operations in the region also provided a British claim to the territory. The talented and shrewd George Simpson served as governor of the company's North American operations, with the equally colorful Dr. John McLoughlin in charge of the HBC's vast Columbia Department headquartered at Fort Vancouver. Fueled by Europe's passion for fashion in the form of beaver hats and accessories, the company's some 35 fur outposts were responsible for trapping out the whole of the Pacific Northwest, western Canada, and southeastern Alaska. Groups of trappers serving on brigades fanned out across the interior in search of beaver and other pelts. The HBC's demand for profits resulted in the creation of a trading empire that came at the expense of the region's natural resources and forever changed the face of the Pacific Northwest.

Although the region was largely spent of fur-bearing animals by the early 1840s, the HBC did not suffer financially, as it had already diversified its operations with other profitable ventures. By 1845, the HBC had more than 1,000 acres of land under cultivation and had also established several manufacturing industries at Fort Vancouver, including sawmilling, shipbuilding, and biacksmithing.

Settlement Major migration to the Oregon Country took place from the 1840s to the 1860s. Prompted by glowing reports of an abundance of natural resources, temperate climate, and peaceful Indians, thousands loaded wagons with supplies and dreams and set out west across the Oregon Trail in pursuit of "Eden." After an arduous journey of six months and 2,000 miles, many emigrants destined for the Oregon Country found themselves at Fort Vancouver, which served as the first terminus of the Oregon Trail.

The British fort's existence was a boon to the beleaguered American arrivals. They were welcomed by Dr. John McLoughlin of the Hudson's Bay Company, even as HBC directors instructed him to prevent American settlement in the disputed territory. McLoughlin proved a merciful benefactor to the immigrants, providing them with crucial support in the form of provisions, equipment, and advice. In fact, Dr. John McLoughlin is regarded as the "Father of Oregon" for the significant role he played in aiding American settlers. Earlier, he assisted Methodist and Catholic missionaries who arrived in the 1830s.

The fort itself was a community—churches, stores, homes, a school, and more supported by a population of several hundred. Higher level clerks and managers resided within the fort palisade, with an area known as the "village" located to the southwest for the company's working-class employees and their families. Many employees helped settle the area by taking up residence nearby after leaving HBC service. As an outpost of European civilization, Fort Vancouver played a major role in the Euro-American settlement of the Pacific Northwest.

After the boundary dispute with Great Britain was peacefully settled in 1846 with all lands south of the 49th parallel ceded to the United States, the army arrived to protect U.S. interests. The city of Vancouver took its name from the fort in 1855 and was incorporated two years later. Washington Territory had been formed earlier, in 1853, with its southern border set by the Columbia River. Settlements in the area included Portland, founded just south of Vancouver on the Willamette in 1845, and, further downstream, Oregon City, founded earlier by John McLoughlin, who retired there after leaving HBC service.

Military At the conclusion of the War of 1812, the U.S. and Great Britain established a policy of joint occupancy for the Oregon Country. In the years that followed, increasing settlement by American citizens laid claim to the region for the U.S., with continuing operations of the Hudson's Bay Company strengthening the British position. In 1846, however, the boundary with present-day Canada was peacefully established. As it reduced operations at Fort Vancouver, the HBC moved its headquarters to Vancouver Island in 1849 and, by 1860, had completely vacated the site, transferring it to the U.S. Army.

In 1879, the site was renamed Vancouver Barracks—the Pacific Northwest's first U.S. Army post and headquarters of the Department of the Columbia, an army subdivision consisting of the state of Oregon and Washington and Idaho territories.

At the century's turn, many military personnel considered Vancouver one of the service's "most desirable duty stations," and it was here Col. Henry A. Morrow inaugurated the U.S. Army post exchange—or PX system—in 1880. Set up as an alternative to the nearby saloons, the on-site "canteen" was a popular innovation soon replicated at posts throughout the west.

During WWI, Vancouver was an important recruitment center, and troop trains transported men and women for duty overseas. The site also was home to one of the world's largest sawmills, which prepared regionally abundant spruce for the manufacture of military aircraft. About 30,000 soldiers worked in the army-operated Spruce Production Division.

Between World Wars I and II, Vancouver was district headquarters for the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). Created by Congress in 1933 as a response to the Depression, the CCC employed young men on conservation projects that brought lasting changes to Pacific Northwest forests, creating a legacy that endures today.

Aviation The grassy expanse along the Columbia River that first attracted the Hudson's Bay Company in the 1820s drew attention from early aviators almost a century later. As the area's first military and civilian airfield—and one of the oldest airfields in the country—Vancouver Barracks and Pearson Field have been a pioneer in military and general aviation. The area was ideal for early aviators and was the site for a number of firsts, including regional air mail and regular passenger flights.

The cause of aviation was advanced admirably at Pearson by local civilian fliers who set records for speed, distance, and altitude while moving the public's perception of aviation from the fantastic to the practical. The airfield gained its current name in 1925 in honor of Alexander Pearson, a local Army Air Corps test pilot who died in 1924 while flying a high-speed race plane, the Curtiss R-8, in preparation for the Pulitzer Air Races.

A memorable event that proved a harbinger of two decades of barnstorming aviation at the field was Silas Christofferson's spectacular flight from Portland to Vancouver Barracks in June 1912. A publicity stunt for the new Multnomah Hotel—which happened to coincide with Portland's Rose Festival—the self-taught airplane builder launched his bamboo-framed Curtiss Pusher from the hotel's roof and into the public's imagination.

A second event topped Christofferson's achievement in world-class fashion 25 years later in June 1937. The world's first nonstop transpolar flight culminated with much fanfare at Vancouver as three Russian aviators landed at Pearson after mechanical problems forced them to divert from their original destination of San Francisco. With its 112-foot wingspan, the Russians' ANT-25 looked more like a giant glider than a single-engine propeller plane—and like no other at the field. The crew—Valeri Chkalov, Georgi Baidukov, and Alexander Belyakov—became Vancouver heroes and thrust Pearson Field into the international spotlight.

The 1879 O.O. Howard House provides information services for the Vancouver National Historic Reserve, introducing visitors to the history of an area that has remained in continued public use for the past 150 years. The exhibit "One Place across Time" illustrates the area's many historic uses, as well as the relationship between its various sites and the contributions of the many persons who lived and worked here. Gen. Oliver Otis Howard, a Civil War recipient of the Medal of Honor, served as commanding officer at Vancouver from 1874 to 1880 and helped found Howard University in Washington, DC. The graceful residence in which he lived the last two years of his Northwest assignment was completed in 1879 and renovated for the historic reserve in 1998. Open daily, free. Information: 360-992-1820 or www.vancouverhistoricreserve.org.

Vancouver National Historic Reserve is easily accessible from Interstate 5, just north of the Columbia River in Washington state, Exit 1C. Signage directs visitors the short distance from E. Mill Plain Blvd. to Fort Vancouver Way and the reserve's main entrance.

The reserve's various sites maintain different hours of operation. Visitors planning a walking tour are cautioned about uneven terrain, especially within Fort Vancouver National Historic Site. The Columbia River waterfront is located a short distance south of the upper reserve and is most easily accessible via motor vehicle.

FOR MORE THAN 20 YEARS, Fort Vancouver served as the headquarters and supply depot of the British Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) and its fur-trading operation west of the Rockies. The fort also was the cultural, economic, and political center of the Pacific Northwest and was considered by some the "New York of the Pacific."

Directing Fort Vancouver's vast scope of activity was Chief Factor John McLoughlin. An imposing figure in Pacific Northwest history, McLoughlin was known to local Indians as the "White-Headed Eagle" for his flowing mane of white hair. Dr. McLoughlin's residence in Oregon City is itself a National Historic Site.

In addition to the impressive operations that took place at Vancouver, the fort was amazing in the number and diversity of people who interacted here. In fact, the fort community of approximately 600—about 350 employees and their families—represented the largest Euro-American settlement on theWest Coast at the time. The population of French Canadians, Iroquois, Scots, English, Americans, Orkney Islanders, local Indians, and Kanakas (Hawaiians) communicated via Chinook Jargon, a mixture of words derived from the traders' various languages.

Today, visitors can step back in time to experience the activities and surroundings of the HBC-period as interpreters in period clothing conduct the business of daily life at the fort. Living history demonstrations illustrate in vibrant fashion the 1840s-era workings of the blacksmith and carpenter shops, kitchen, and bakehouse. Call ahead for dates and times.

Fifty years of archaeological investigations in the 20th-century have provided the blueprint for the reconstruction of the stockade, bastion, chief factor's house, and other structures at their original locations and for the replanting of some of the fort's extensive gardens and orchards. While the approximately 1.5 million items recovered from the area make Fort Vancouver an unparalleled source of HBC material, many artifacts also reflect the presence of the site's other inhabitants—native peoples and the military. The National Park Service's public archaeology program offers a variety of opportunities to unearth the site's rich history, including classes, tours, lectures, and "Kids Digs."

In addition to the ongoing living history demonstrations and archaeology-related offerings, a number of events and activities celebrate Fort Vancouver and HBC history throughout the year, including Queen Victoria's birthday, a brigade encampment, candlelight tour, and traditional HBC Christmas. The fort visitor center introduces visitors to the HBC story through exhibits and audio-visual presentations.

THE U.S. ARMY arrived at Vancouver in 1849 to ensure the orderly settlement of the Oregon Territory, gradually becoming the army's principal administrative center in the Pacific Northwest.

After the 1846 treaty with Great Britain set the boundary with present-day Canada, the U.S. established a military reservation on a bluff overlooking the Hudson's Bay Company stockade. Part of a plan to erect military posts along the route settlers were following from the Mississippi to the Columbia, the army's vantage point also served to trumpet U.S. control of the area. The army operated alongside the British for a little over a decade, until the HBC moved the last of its operations to British Columbia in 1860. By that time, the army had erected barracks and other structures in the area and added new roads.

Many African Americans served at Vancouver Barracks, among them, members of infantry and cavalry regiments, known as Buffalo, Soldiers. The barracks was a mobilization and training center for Philippine-bound units during the Spanish-American War and mustered troops to protect American interests and citizens during the Klondike gold rush.

During the Spanish-American War and both world wars, Vancouver Barracks played an important role as a recruitment and training center, with troop trains transporting men and women for duty overseas during WWI. Vancouver remained as military headquarters of the Pacific Northwest until WWI, when it became a significant instrument in the war industry, producing material for airplanes. Between the world wars, Vancouver was active in voluntary military training programs, including the Citizens Military Training Camps, a national civilian program for youth, and the Civilian Conservation Corps.

Today, Vancouver Barracks is a location for the Washington National Guard and U.S. Army Reserve units. Originally 640 acres, the site now encompasses more than 55 acres, which includes the 42 historic buildings of Vancouver Barracks. Visitors enjoy guided walking tours of the grounds and buildings, and events include an annual observance of the U.S. Army's arrival at the site.

ONE OF THE OLDEST operating airfields in the United States, Pearson Field is notable as the site of several historic aviation firsts, including the June 1937 landing of the world's first nonstop transpolar flight. A monument to the flight's Russian crew stands outside the Jack Murdock Aviation Center, the first such tribute to Soviet achievement in the U.S.

Named for local philanthropist and Tektronix founder Jack Murdock, the 23,500-square-foot aviation center at Pearson Field includes a museum, education center, and restoration workshop. The center's black-and-yellow checkerboard roof is reminiscent of those common at army airfields during the 1920s-1930s, when pilots often needed visual guides to help them find the airfield in bad weather. Today, the city of Vancouver operates a general aviation airport at Pearson.

The Jack Murdock Aviation Center explores Pearson Field's colorful past, as well as the science of flight and aviation history in general. Visitors enjoy attractions including vintage aircraft, interpretive displays, hands-on demonstrations, and theater presentations. In addition, Pearson hosts a number of events, including historical reenactments, concerts, dances, and a biplane fly-in. Admission.

THE 21 STATELY Victorian homes lining the north side of the Parade Ground were built between 1849 and 1906 for the U.S. Army officers who served the local post and the Department of the Columbia. The garrison was said to be "the prettiest occupied by any military post in the United States," and most officers and their families who lived at Vancouver found it a pleasing station. Officers who served here include Philip Sheridan, Omar Bradley, Ulysses S. Grant, Benjamin Bonneville, and George C. Marshall.

Grant House was the first house built on Officers Row (1849-1850), making it the oldest building at Vancouver Barracks and one of the oldest in the Pacific Northwest. Ulysses S. Grant was stationed at Vancouver as a quartermaster from 1852 to 1853, and although he never lived in it, routine duties often brought him to the home later named in his honor. Grant House is open to the public.

Marshall House was built in 1886 and later named for George C. Marshall, commanding officer at Vancouver from 1936 to 1938. Marshall, who later became army chief of staff to President Franklin Roosevelt and also served as Secretary of State and Secretary of Defense, is said to have regarded his years at Vancouver as among the happiest of his life. Perhaps best known for authoring the Marshall Plan, an economic recovery program for war-torn Europe, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1953. Marshall House is open week days to the public.

THE COLUMBIA RIVER is a vital element to the many stories of the Vancouver National Historic Reserve. This force of nature was central to the existence of native peoples, brought foreign explorers inland in search of empire and profits, and provided for the needs of military and industry.

The reserve contains portions of the Columbia River waterfront—Waterfront Park in the west and Marine Park in the east—separated by a private business park, the former site the WWII-era Kaiser Shipyard. Access the area is gained via E. 5th St. and Grand Blvd to Hwy. 14 and Columbia Way. Discovery Trail provides pedestrian access from the upper reserve to the waterfront.

Waterfront and Marine parks are joined in the lower reserve by the Water Resources Education Center, Kaiser Shipyard Tower Overlook, and Old Apple Tree Park. In addition, visitors can enjoy the mile-long portion of Discovery Trail that runs along the riverfront, as well as a wetlands overlook.

This overlook allows visitors to view the remnants of the WWII shipways that sent Baby Flat Tops, Liberty Ships, LSTs, Attack Transports, and Troop Transports into the mighty Columbia and on their way overseas. Now the site of a private business park, it was here industrialist Henry Kaiser began building a massive shipyard in January 1942, on the site of a former dairy farm. The Kaiser story, including that of the thousands of men and women who worked in round-the-clock shifts to produce ships for service in WWII, unfolds in the interpretive panels of the Tower Overtook.

This state-of-the-art facility teaches visitors of all ages about the importance of water, conservation, and the Columbia River ecosystem through a variety of special events programming and engaging features, from an interactive exhibit hall, multimedia theater, and computer game room to the 350-gallon sturgeon aquarium, water sciences laboratory, and wetlands overlook.

This park honors the "great-grandfather" of Washington's renowned apple industry. Early in the 19th century, seeds were sent from London to Fort Vancouver for the purpose of planting an apple tree. The result of that mission—a remarkable old tree that still bears fruit—is located in a park just southwest of the fort. The first Saturday of each October, visitors enjoy the Old Apple Tree Festival, a celebration of the pioneer era.

Discovery Trail is an inviting urban trail that is part of a paved, four-mile scenic path connecting downtown Vancouver with the shops, restaurants, natural and historic sites of the Columbia River waterfront and upper reserve. Few places in America offer so many historic and scenic attractions in such close proximity as Discovery Trail, which no doubt helped Vancouver earn its title as one of America's most "walkable" cities.

The contents of brochures, site bulletins and trading cards (denoted with a colored caption) can be viewed by clicking on the cover. Most modern-day brochures, however, are cover only (denoted by a white caption) due to photograph copyrights. These items are historical in scope and are intended for educational purposes only; they are not meant as an aid for travel planning. The dates under each brochure do not reflect the complete range of years that a particular brochure was issued.

Fort Vancouver
1962		cover only 1967	1974	1976
1978-1982		cover only 1984-1995		cover only 1997-1999
cover only 2001		cover only 2003		cover only 2006-2015
2019-2021
McLoughlin House
1948		1950		1968	1979
1985
cover only 1989-1991		1993-1999		2005-2016
Vancouver National Historic Reserve Historic District
Date Unknown, c1990s		Date Unknown, c2000s		Date Unknown, c2010s

The Company Village 2/02		cover only The Company Village 8/07		The Village 2007
Japanese Castaways 9/2000		The Grant House: First Army Headquarters in the Northwest January 2001		The Marshall House: Victorian Jewel of Officers Row August 2007
National Park Service Collections October 2015		National Park Service Collections October 2015		Vancouver During World War II August 2005
Dr. McLoughlin's Garden August 2009		Dr. McLoughlin's Garden October 2015		Archaeology at Fort Vancouver Date Unknown
Land Bridge: Re-establishing an Historic Connection 07/2008		Fort of Many Cultures Date Unknown		Hawaiians at Fort Vancouver January 2009
The Visitor Center August 2015		The Civil War at Fort Vancouver January 2009		Background and History 1998
The Howard House: A Home for the Department Commander August 2007		General O.O. Howard House Date Unknown		One of the Nation's Oldest Operating Airfields November 2008
Pearson Air Museum Date Unknown	Special Events 1996	1998 Calendar of Events 1948-1998: Celebrating 50 years of Cultural Heritage Preservation and Education 1998		Summer Program Schedule 2006
Special Programs and Events Calendar 2007		Special Programs and Events Calendar 2008		Special Programs and Events Calendar 2008
Programs and Events Calendar 2009		Programs and Events Calendar 2009		Special Events at the Bandstand and Picnic Shelter 2009
Annual Events and Programs 2014	175th Anniversary of the Fort's Founding 2000		The Counting House Dedication June 12, 2004		McLoughlin House Date Unknown
"Such Perfection in Gardening..." A Guide to the Plants in the Fort Vancouver Garden Date Unknown		Historical Tour Date Unknown		Officers Row Date Unknown	Water Resources Education Center Date Unknown
Champions of History - Mayor Royce Pollard Date Unknown		Date Unknown		Spruce Trail Guide September 2010
Fort Nisqually 2019	Fort Nisqually 2020	Fort Nisqually 2020	Fort Nisqually 2020
Trading Cards
			(©Jefferson National Parks Association)

Archaeology Lab Manual (Douglas Wilson, Robert Cromwell, Danielle Gembala, Theresa Langford and Debra Semrau, December 2003)

Dr. McLoughlin's House (Alice Greve, extract from The Beaver, Outfit 272, September 1941)

Kanaka William (Yvonne Mearns Klan, extract from The Beaver, Outfit 309:4, Spring 1979)

Mr. Beaver Objects... (Herbert Beaver, extract from The Beaver, Outfit 272, September 1941)

Conflict On Puget Sound (John S. Galbraith, extract from The Beaver, Outfit 281, March 1951)

Fort Nisqually Restored (Alfred L. Gehri, extract from The Beaver, Outfit 271:2, September 1940)

The following visual bibliography is just a sampling of the handbooks and books which have been published for this park. NPSHistory.com does not endorse these, but are merely presenting them for informational purposes only. As most are copyrighted, we are only able to provide the covers, and not contents, of these publications.

McLoughlin and Old Oregon: A Chronicle Eva Emery Dye 1910	cover only John McLoughlin: Father of Oregon Robert C. Johnson 1935	cover only Letters of Dr. John McLoughlin Burt Brown Barker, ed. 1948	The History of Fort Vancouver and Its Physical Structure John A. Hussey 1957
cover only The McLoughlin Empire and its Rulers Burt Brown Barker 1959	cover only Minority without a Champion: Kanakas on the Pacific Coast, 1788-1850 Janice K. Duncan 1972	cover only John McLoughlin's Business Correspondence, 1847-48 William R. Sampson, ed. 1973	cover only Handbook #113 1981
cover only Royal Family of the Columbia: Dr. John McLoughlin and His Family Alberta Brooks Fogdall 1982	cover only The Eagle & the Fort: The Story of John McLoughlin Dorothy Nafus Morrison 1984	cover only Northwest Bastion: The U.S. Army Barracks at Vancouver, 1849-1916 Ted Van Arsdol 1991	cover only Kanaka: The Untold Story of Hawaiian Pioneers in British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest Tom Koppel 1995
cover only Outpost: John McLoughlin and the Far Northwest Dorothy Nafus Morrison 1999	cover only Handbook #113 2001	cover only Fort Vancouver: A Historical Tour 6/2001	cover only Exploring Fort Vancouver Douglas C. Wilson & Theresa E. Langford, eds. 2011