Travel writer Lisa Evans recently explored Vancouver, Washington for Big Blend Radio's Journey Jukebox podcast. Hear the full story in Exploring Vancouver, Washington: Hidden Gems, History & Columbia River Beauty, then read on for her closer look at Fort Vancouver.

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On a recent visit to Vancouver, WA, I was fortunate enough to tour the Fort Vancouver National Historic Site. The fort has a long, layered history, since its primary purpose wasn't defensive. Its designation as a national historic site includes the reconstructed Fort Vancouver, Vancouver Barracks, Pearson Air Museum and Pearson Field, and McLoughlin House. While Officers Row is not included in that official designation, it is part of the overall experience that you do not want to miss.

The places noted above, tucked along the Columbia River, make up one of the most historically significant areas in the Pacific Northwest. In the 1820s, Hudson's Bay Company built its Pacific headquarters here. By choosing this area, the company helped shape the region's economy, political boundaries, and culture. Today, as the Fort Vancouver National Historic Site, visitors can explore the reconstructed fort and absorb the surrounding history.

In the early 19th century, the Pacific Northwest was an area claimed by both the United States and Britain. Indigenous nations had lived here for thousands of years. The fur trade was huge, with both nations trading with the tribes. The Hudson's Bay Company, chartered by the British Crown, needed a permanent base on the lower Columbia River. This base became Fort Vancouver, providing them with access to transportation, fertile land, and the area's most important commercial corridor.

What made Fort Vancouver distinctive among frontier outposts was the sheer scale and variety of activity that took place here. Although its name suggests a military post, Fort Vancouver was primarily a business enterprise. Its purpose was to collect, process, and ship furs, especially beaver pelts. It also shipped out salmon, lumber, and other provisions.

The fort functioned as an active community and agricultural hub. There were fields, gardens, orchards, and livestock operations that supplied food for employees, visiting ships, and other Hudson's Bay Company posts. Blacksmiths, carpenters, coopers, bakers, and other skilled workers produced and repaired the many items needed to keep the operation running.

Dr. John McLoughlin managed the company's operations at Fort Vancouver and became a very influential man in the area. Although he worked for a British company, he helped many Americans arriving via the Oregon Trail with supplies and support. Settlers could rest, trade, repair wagons, and gain insight into the region before moving on. While he may not have gained favor with the Hudson's Bay Company, history remembers him as the "Father of Oregon".

In 1846, the United States and Britain drew a boundary, placing Fort Vancouver in the United States. Hudson's Bay Company continued to operate for a few more years, but in 1849 relocated north. With the influx of more settlers to the Pacific Northwest, America insisted upon more control of the region.

Roughly at the same time as the Hudson's Bay Company's relocation, the U.S. Army established a post near the original fort. It was called Columbia Barracks, later known as Fort Vancouver, and eventually became Vancouver Barracks. It grew into one of the West Coast's most important military posts. Over the next century, Vancouver Barracks housed several officers who later rose to prominence during the Civil War. One such officer was Ulysses S. Grant. Grant was stationed there in the early 1850s as a young Army officer, well before becoming a Union general and president.

The two installations lived side by side until the original Fort Vancouver burned in 1866. For many years, Hudson's Bay Company's fort survived only in memory and in what archaeologists would later find.

Today, visitors see an accurate reconstruction rather than the original structure. Fort Vancouver is built on the original fort's archaeological footprint. Beginning in 1947, archaeological excavations uncovered building foundations, artifacts, and other evidence, allowing the National Park Service to preserve it.

In the 1960s, reconstruction began based on these archaeological finds. Today, many of the buildings have been restored and can be explored by visitors, like me. Fort buildings such as the bastion, the jail, the bake house, the counting house, the kitchen, the fur store, the carpenter shop, and the blacksmith shop, to name a few.

I would highly recommend stopping at the Visitor Center first, as I did. You can chat with the volunteers there, see current displays, and see the Spirit Pole. It is well worth your time.

Once inside the fort, there is much to see. As you walk through, take note of the many artifacts displayed. They will add personal significance to the overall story. Buttons, beads, ceramics, tools, coins, and fragments of household objects provide clues about trade, work, status, and everyday life. The collection represents decades of archaeology and signifies Fort Vancouver as one of the most important historical research sites in the Pacific Northwest.

Below are just a handful of the places you can visit on the grounds.

An additional part of Fort Vancouver National Historic Site, just a short walk away, is Pearson Field. It is one of the oldest continuously operating airfields in the United States.

Pearson's aviation story began after World War I, when the U.S. Army chose Vancouver Barracks as the site of a spruce mill producing lumber for military aircraft. Here, pilots training on new flight technology used the cleared land as an airfield. In 1924, the field hosted a stopover on the U.S. Army Air Service's first round-the-world flight. This was a milestone in aviation's early days.

Pearson's location connected it to the military, but by the 1930s, it had transitioned to civilian use and become a regular stop on the great air routes of aviation's Golden Age. One of the most notable events was in 1937. Pearson gained international fame when Soviet aviator Valery Chkalov landed there at the end of the first nonstop transpolar flight from Moscow.

Today, the Pearson Air Museum is housed in a 1918 hangar and interprets aviation history with aircraft including a restored DH-4 Liberty Plane, a JN-4 "Jenny," and a full-scale Curtiss Pusher replica. In 2012, the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics recognized the site as a historic aerospace landmark.

The museum offers an enjoyable change of pace after touring Fort Vancouver, especially for families and aviation buffs.

Officers Row is one of my favorite places to visit in Vancouver. The words that come to mind are elegant and stately. East Evergreen Boulevard, lining the edge of what was formerly the Vancouver Barracks Parade Ground, has twenty-one beautifully preserved homes. The Army built these houses for officers and their families who were stationed at the barracks. As you walk along this tree-lined street, past these fabulous homes, it is as if you are in another era. I strolled through on a sunny, spectacular Sunday with a friend, and felt nothing but peace and tranquility.

These buildings witnessed generations of military life. Some of the most consequential American military figures of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries lived here with their families. These include Ulysses S. Grant, Philip Sheridan, Benjamin Bonneville, Omar Bradley, and George C. Marshall. Mr. Marshall commanded Vancouver Barracks in the late 1930s.

Two of the best-known residences along Officers Row are the Grant House and the Marshall House. The Grant House was built in 1849-1850 and is the oldest surviving building at the barracks. Today, it operates as a public house and restaurant. Having had the pleasure of taking a break on the verandah to have a cool drink and a small bite, I can assure you the aura of the home is as cultured as the building itself. It is a great place to enjoy the view and relax with great conversation, as my friend and I did.

The George C. Marshall House, an 1886 Queen Anne Victorian, serves as a small museum. Mr. Marshall lived at the post during the 1930s, before becoming Army chief of staff during World War II, Secretary of State, and a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. The Marshall House has a round corner turret, giving it a magical castle feel. It also has dazzling stained glass windows. It is simply stunning.

Several buildings along Officers Row are now used for community or commercial purposes. Not all are open all the time, but walking past these houses is a great way to appreciate the architecture and enjoy the area.

Vancouver is a very walkable city. All this history is easy to reach. On your way, be sure to walk across the nearby Vancouver Land Bridge. The landscaped pedestrian bridge links the historic district to the waterfront along the Columbia River, all while honoring the area's Indigenous heritage and the river's lasting importance.

Fort Vancouver is not the story of one fort or one nation. It is a place shaped by Indigenous history, international trade, migration, military service, archaeology, and aviation. Within a small area, visitors can trace the Pacific Northwest's evolution from a Hudson's Bay Company commercial center to an American military post and modern city, all while discovering the people whose lives made that history possible.

Lisa Evans is a travel writer, photographer and author, and the host of Big Blend Radio's Journey Jukebox podcast. A Southeast-based traveler who loves history, food and the road less traveled, she also designs custom trips as a travel advisor and cruises often. Visit her at writerlisa.com.

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