National Park Vacation - Fort Vancouver

Fort Vancouver National Park

When you visit Fort Vancouver, it's really a two unit experience. The fort itself in Vancouver, Washington tells the story of the men of the Hudson Bay Company and how their commercial enterprises led to the settlement of the northwest. The outpost was built as headquarters for the company in 1824. There were forty buildings inside the fort at one time. Tour the McLoughlin House, twenty-five away across the Columbia River in Oregon City, Oregon, and focus on the McLoughlin family after their twenty-five years of being Chief Factor of Fort Vancouver was over. It tells the story about how John McLoughlin championed the settlement of the area as he urged wagon trails to traverse the Oregon Trail.

Fort Vancouver was a surprising place back in the early to mid-1800s. More populated than San Francisco, it was the hub of trading operation of the Hudson Bay Company. You'll learn about fur, and agriculture, about hardship, about how tough it was to be a man or woman in a territory that really was only on the cusp of being settled. There are demonstrations throughout the complex about how life was lived in the time, at locations like the Blacksmith Shop, Carpenter's Shop, the Bakehouse, the Gardens, and the Kitchen.

Remember, this was not a USA type of place during its first decades, but British, and even later when the fort became the Columbia Barracks, and associated with the USA, it kept history going as the home of the soldier force that allowed settlement of the area to take full bore, all the while displacing the Amerian Indians who called the lands home. It many ways it was a microcosm of American settlement, whether it be east or west coast, or anywhere in between for that matter. Exploration. Settlement. Displacement. Photo above right: One building at Fort Vancouver (Courtesy NPS) Photo above: Officer mess and quarters, Fort Vancouver, Hudson Bay Company, 1860. (LOC)

Things You Should Not Miss

1. Take the Fort Vancouver tour. It's now only one of the options, where it usually to be mandatory, but it still is probably the best. Let the park ranger take you back in time to the halcion days of northwest territory expansion, the Hudson Bay Company, and commerce before the mall and internet. They really know their stuff.

2. Drive down to the McLoughlin House and find out about the area of Oregon settlement that occured after the Hudson Bay Company's best days were done.

Buildings inside the reconstructed fort at Fort Vancouver. Source: Wikipedia Commons.

What is There Now

Fort Vancouver Visitor Center - Located on the north end of the site. Visit here first and find out what the schedule of events are for the day you are visiting.

The Reconstructed Fort - Located south of the visitor center with the Columbia River south of park ground and the fort.

McLoughlin House and Barclay House - Located in Oregon City twenty-five miles southeast. There's a lot of history in Oregon City, both here and at other historic locations such as the Museum of Oregon History only a couple blocks away.

Lodging and Camping

There is no lodging or camping inside the historic park, but both are available in the region on both sides of the Columbia River. Check out your favorite online travel site such as Expedia or the local tourist bureaus for lodging choices, both in Vancouver, Washington, Portland, Oregon, or Oregon City, Oregon.

Fort Vancouver Links

Fort Vancouver National Historic Site
Southwest Washington Convention and Visitor Bureau
Clackamas Tourism Development Council

Nearby Attractions

Travel Oregon
Musuem of the Oregon Territory
Washington State Tourism
Kondike Gold Rush National Historical Park
Olympic National Park

AllTrips.com

Fort Vancouver Then and Now


The flag of the Hudson Bay Company, Source: Wikipedia Commons.
Fort Vancouver Then
The Hudson Bay Company and Fort Vancouver- During the 1840's, Fort Vancouver was home to more people than San Francisco, even though it only had 700 people total at the fort. This was uncharted territory. To give you a taste of where the Pacific Northwest stood on the settlement chart; neither Seattle, Vancouver, or Portland existed yet. The village itself had fifty buildings.
Fort Vancouver Now

Fort Vancouver - Take time in the visitor center, then take a self-guided, audio, or park ranger tour of the fort and village. There's also a stroll down to the Columbia River for those that like scenery after their history lesson. McLoughlin House - This unit is actually two homes, the McLoughline House itself and the Barclay House. Tours begin at Barclay. Both homes are located in McLoughlin Park. Photo above: McLoughlin House today (Courtesy NPS) Custom Search

America's Best HistoryTM

Fort Vancouver