Fort Vancouver Historic Structures Report

Recommendations

a. It is recommended that the Harness Shop be rebuilt in accordance with the construction data furnished in the body of this chapter. Where specific facts are not available, general Hudson's Bay Company building practices, as presented throughout this report, should be followed.

b. In view of the important interpretive possibilities offered by the Harness Shop, it is suggested that this structure be furnished as an active saddler's and harness maker's shop of the period. Items of pack horse equipment, for instance, could be used to illustrate the entire story of interior land communication and transport--from the obtaining of horses from the Nez Perces and California to the brigade routes and the organization and gear of a Hudson's Bay Company pack train.