Fort Vancouver National Historic Site

A fur-trading fort rebuilt log for log

Fort Vancouver was the Hudson’s Bay Company’s Pacific headquarters from 1825, the hub of the fur trade across the Pacific Northwest before it became a U.S. Army post. The National Park Service has reconstructed the wooden stockade, bastion, blacksmith shop, and warehouses on the fort’s original archaeological footprint, staffed by costumed interpreters who run the forge, load muskets, and fire the gate’s two 18-pound naval cannons for scheduled demonstrations.

The surrounding Vancouver National Historic Reserve also includes Officers Row’s restored 19th-century houses and Pearson Air Museum, one of the oldest operating airfields in the country — enough to fill most of a day for anyone chasing military and frontier history.

Visiting

• 612 E Reserve St, Vancouver, WA — about 45 miles / 50–55 minutes from Stevenson via SR-14.
• Open Tuesday–Saturday; closed Sunday and Monday. Hours shift seasonally, so check the NPS site before driving out.
• Living-history demonstrations (musket firing, blacksmithing) run on a schedule — worth timing the visit around.