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Fort Vancouver National Historic Site

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To review a historical site, I visited the Fort Vancouver National Historic Site located at 1001 E 5th Street Vancouver, Washington. The historical site was established by John McLoughlin in 1824 by the Hudson’s Bay Company. The setting was enormous, with many various old buildings including large acres of land. I found it very intriguing to explore the history of my hometown and what exactly occurred at this historical place that made it famous. First of all, the location wouldn’t have existed without the exploration by Lewis and Clark. “In the spring of 1804, Lewis and Clark’s fifty-member ‘corps of discovery’ set out from the St. Louis...After crossing the Rocky Mountains, the expedition reached the Pacific Ocean in the area of present-day …show more content…

It was the central location that operated fur trading for the community. “The rapid expansion of the fur trade diminished the population of beaver and other animals” (Foner 57). Therefore this trading station changed the native land. It also supplied goods towards the west of the Rock Mountains, impacting economically and socially to the Pacific Northwest. Furthermore, the location of the site was suitable for the company because of a close river source for fish, and enough lumber and land for other goods to produce, making this a great trading post. Furthermore, The Hudson’s Bay Company would often trade fur to Hawaii traders in exchange for their goods such as sugar cane, hogs, salt, coffee, and sweet potato. They also trade with the Indians, “The English exchanged goods with the native population, and Indians often traveled through colonial settlements” (Foner 55). Also, around the 1830’s their trading location expanded to exporting goods such as produce, wheat, salmon and lumber. Therefore, trade seemed very lively at that historical site. The Fort Vancouver Site also consisted of an army barrack, which was really interesting to see because it contained a lot of historical content. Also, the barracks were established in 1853 until 1879. It became the first military post in the Pacific Northwest and later became the headquarters of the U.S Army Operations. Thorough research I found that it was also used to support the soldiers that would fight against the local Native American Tribes. However, they only seeked for peaceful settlement with the Native Americans. The Native Americans, “had established businesses as traders and slaveowning farmers with the help of their white fathers” (Foner 309). Although, some Native Americans resisted the European influence, thus causing some dispute. Furthermore, while wandering the Fort Vancouver Site, I

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