Fort Vancouver and Fort Clatsop

This weekend Tim and I added two more stamp cancellations to our National Park Service passport, logging our visits to two historic sites, Fort Vancouver and Fort Clatsop.  They could not be more different.

Fort Vancouver

Fort Vancouver, situated just across the Columbia River from Portland, has a surprisingly--at least to me--long history.  It's a place that has gone through several transformations over time.

First as the Northwest headquarters of the London-based Hudson Bay Company, its mission was to keep peace with the Indians, squeeze Americans out of the fur trade, and firmly establish the British claim to all of Oregon.

John McLoughlin

Therefore, the company was not at all pleased with John McLoughlin, the British chief factor of the fort, who tried to help the trail-weary, needy Oregon settlers with food and supplies.  When in 1846 the influx of Americans resulted in a division of Oregon Territory along the 49th Parallel, McLoughlin retired, moved to Oregon City, Oregon and became an American citizen.  He has since gained the accolade, "Father of Oregon."

Officers Row

Now under American ownership, Fort Vancouver served as a major headquarters west of the Mississippi with an illustrious roster of famous soldiers who spent time there, personages such as Ulysses S. Grant, George B. McClellan, Philip H. Sheridan to name a few.

The Barracks

In World War I when lumber was needed to build airplanes, the fort, now called Vancouver Barracks, became the site of the largest sawmill in the country, utilizing Army soldiers as lumberjacks and millworkers to replace the men lost to the draft.  

Pearson Airfield

The Army established Pearson Airfield there in 1925 making it a leader in military aviation.  

The Marshall House

General George C. Marshall, architect of the Marshall Plan to restore war-torn Berlin and subsequently Nobel Peace Prize winner, served as the post commander here in the years leading up to the World War II.  Next, the Barracks became an aviation training center, and due to its deep-water harbor, a port of embarkation for troops and supplies to fight the Axis.  Finally from 1946 to 2011, the Vancouver Barracks trained U. S. Army Reserves and National Guard soldiers for missions ranging from Korea to Vietnam to Iraq and Afghanistan.  A very illustrious history, indeed.

Fort Clatsop

Fort Clatsop, on the other hand, was much more fleeting.  Built at the mouth of the Columbia River where it empties into the Pacific, it was the winter quarters of the exploratory party of Lewis and Clark.

Meriwether Lewis, left; William Clark, right

There I wondered what Meriwether and Captain William would say if they could see our RV, the Dawntreader, parked in the lot near what was once their Fort Clatsop, named for the local Indian tribe.  Would they be impressed by the Dawntreader's mobile, modern conveniences?  Or would they think of all the wondrous details we likely missed as we hurtled along the highway, details they so meticulously noted in their journals about the plants and the animals and the landscapes they saw as they tried to find a passage to the Pacific.

I doubt that I could dwell in their meager outpost for a winter without loudly lamenting its lack of comforts.  

The crude cabins they hastily assembled probably seemed like a little bit of home to this company of 31 men who had traveled rough over 4,000 miles across the continent, but I could not fathom living there.  

Sacagwea

And what of Sacagwea who likely helped cook their meals?  Would she have been awed by my microwave?  Or would she claim she missed the smoky flavor a campfire imparts to a roasted meal.

I wonder!