Fort Vancouver National Historic Site
July 2020
Stepping back in time at Fort Vancouver NHS
After my first visit back in 2019, I always wanted to return to this fantastic place. Located on the north bank of the Columbia River in Vancouver, WA, Fort Vancouver National Historic Site gives a glimpse of the Pacific Northwest’s past. A year later, I finally made it back with my friend, who had never seen the fort.
- July 24, 2020
- 5.18 mi
- 1:34:10 hrs
- 64 °F
Walking through the reconstructed fort, we learned that the fort started as the headquarters of the Hudson’s Bay Company. It became the most important commercial, cultural, political, and trade hub in the Pacific Northwest—from Alaska to California, from the Rockies to the Pacific! A diverse community lived on the fort, with cultures from Scottish and French Canadian to Iroquois and Hawaiian.
The U.S. Army took over the site in 1849, after the Hudson’s Bay Company slowly left the fort, and established the Vancouver Barracks. The barracks served as a critical military post during westward expansion and as a training ground for soldiers during World Wars I and II.
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The site became a national monument in 1949 and a national historic site in 1966. The reconstruction of the fort began in the 1960s, based on historical records and archaeological findings.
