Rediscovering the Fort Vancouver School

Students excavate inside Fort Vancouver, at the location of the fort's first schoolhouse.

NPS Photo

By Katie Wynia, Archaeological Research Assistant

In July 2022, a team of National Park Service (NPS) and university archaeologists and students successfully located evidence of the Hudson's Bay Company's schoolhouses at Fort Vancouver. This excavation was a part of the Public Archaeology Field School, a long-running partnership program between the NPS, Portland State University, and Washington State University Vancouver. This field school teaches university students archaeological field and lab methods. This summer's dig site was also highly visible and open to the public, providing park visitors opportunities to learn about archaeology. As archaeologists and students recovered evidence of the mid-19th century Hudson's Bay Company schoolhouses, they also interacted with hundreds of park visitors.

Results from the ground penetrating radar survey that occurred before digging began showed clues as to where concentrations of artifacts might be found underground.

NPS Photo

Excavating at the Schoolhouse Sites

Prior to digging, archaeologists from Washington State University performed a remote sensing survey over the project area using ground penetrating radar. Based on these results, coupled with historical maps, we placed two excavation blocks in the location of the first schoolhouse and three excavation blocks in the areas of the new schoolhouses.

Inside the fort stockade, the field school excavated at the location of Fort Vancouver's first schoolhouse, later known as the Owyhee Church, used in the 1830s and 1840s. Archaeologists and students recovered artifacts related to the structure and use of the building including square nails, window glass, English bricks, and mortar made from Hawaiian coral.

Artifacts also provided evidence of food preparation and eating: ceramic vessels of Hudson's Bay Company-era transferprint, Chinese export porcelain, and hand-painted earthenwares; lead shot and animal bone fragments; and bottle glass fragments. Another recovered artifact was a metal awl used for leather working. Personal objects included buttons, beads, clay tobacco pipe fragments, fragments of at least two different snuff bottles, and a seashell. The excavations also found a fragment of a slate writing tablet and slate pencils, clear indicators of schoolhouse activities.

The field school also worked at the site of the New Schoolhouses north of the fort stockade. The HBC built two schoolhouses in this area around 1844. In 1849, the buildings were later rented by the US Army as a barracks and a storehouse. One of the three excavation blocks in this area yielded evidence of the western schoolhouse, including the remains of a wood footing of the building. Architectural artifacts included square nails, English brick, and window glass. Other mid-19th century artifacts included fragments of transferprint ceramic vessels, clay tobacco pipes, bottle glass, a blue glass bead, and an early US Army slate pencil.

Learn more about school at Fort Vancouver

Click here to discover the stories of students and teachers at the Fort Vancouver school.

Field school students begin excavating in the area of the 1844 New Schoolhouses.

NPS Photo

Fostering the Next Generation of National Park Stewards

An important part of the field school program is interacting with the public to share the science of archaeology and how we can use it to expand our understanding of the past. At Fort Vancouver National Historic Site's Public Archaeology Field School, this is done by making dig sites open to the public and hosting a Kids Dig program for children. Over the course of July 2022, hundreds of visitors stopped by the dig sites, talking with students about the progress of the excavation and their exciting finds.

The Kids Dig program, designed for kids ages 8 to 12, took place on three Saturdays during the excavation. Kids Digs are led by national park rangers and students participating in the field school. Participants are led through a mock excavation and prompted to discuss their discoveries and what they might reveal about the history of Fort Vancouver. The program had over 100 enthusiastic participants, all of whom went home with a "Junior Archaeologist" certificate after sharing their favorite artifact and what they had learned about during the program.

Artifacts recovered from the field school will become part of the Fort Vancouver National Historic Site museum collection, and will inform future educational programs and cultural resources activities at the park.

NPS Photo

The Public Archaeology Field School at Fort Vancouver teaches the next generation of archaeologists, while also providing opportunities for visitors of all ages to learn about archaeology. This year's excavations successfully relocated the Hudson's Bay Company schoolhouses, recovering artifacts that will be analyzed and interpreted to expand our understanding of daily life and schooling at this site. We hope another lasting legacy of the project will be the memories and connections made by the public at our excavation sites, learning about our shared history through the lens of archaeology.