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Image: Lithograph of Fort Vancouver in 1855
Transcript
DESCRIBING: A lithograph showing Fort Vancouver and Vancouver Barracks in 1855.
SYNOPSIS: A 19th century lithograph that shows a scene of Fort Vancouver, the Columbia River, and Vancouver Barracks in shades of green, brown, and blue. The viewer is facing east. On the far right side of the image is the Columbia River looking upstream towards Mt. Hood. The river and Mt. Hood are labeled. On the north bank of the river is Fort Vancouver, surrounded by gardens and orchards. In the foreground are earthen paths and small one-room cabins. A road runs east to west through the middle of the image. On the north side of the road are labeled areas showing the St. James Mission, fields and orchards of St. James Mission, and the US Army post.
IN-DEPTH DESCRIPTION: Fort Vancouver, located on the north bank of the Columbia River, consists of several buildings enclosed within a rectangular wooden stockade. A towering bastion stands in the northwest corner of the fort. The fort is labeled with the words "Hudson's Bay Company fort." To the east of the fort are orchards; to the north of the fort's stockade wall is a large garden surrounded by a wooden fence. In the foreground on the right side of the image, east of the fort, are three log cabins. An earthen path winds from the far right corner of the image towards a large earthen road that runs east to west north of the fort. On this curved section of path, six horses pull a wooden cart carrying four large barrels. Figures of four people can be seen walking this path. On the main east to west road is a cart carrying a person with a hat and a whip, pulled by two oxen.
North of the east-west road that divides the lithograph image in half, in the foreground of the image, is a two-story white building with a gabled roof topped by a cross. This building is labeled "Church, St. James Mission." North and east of the church are fenced areas with small buildings. In the foreground east of the church are a collection of trees labeled "Fields and orchards of St. James Mission."
North of the east-west road is a sloping hill that leads to an upper terrace. About eleven buildings, single and two-story, are located on this grassy slope. In the foreground on this slope is a semi-circle-shaped area that appears to be overgrown, contains some cross-shaped grave markers, and surrounded by a fence. On this slope, on the left-most edge of the lithograph, is a small building inside a stockade wall that resembles a smaller version of the wooden stockade that surrounds Fort Vancouver.
At the top of the terrace to the north, on the right side of the image, is a row of white military buildings with gabled and hipped roofs. In front of this row of buildings is an enormous flagpole topped by a waving American flag. A row of cannons sits beyond the flagpole, just at the point where the terrace begins to slope. The cannons are aimed down the hill, facing south towards the British Fort Vancouver. This area is labeled with the text "US Army post." Behind this row of buildings is a heavily forested area, thick with evergreen trees.
In the far distance are rolling hills leading to the Columbia River Gorge and Mt. Hood, a dormant volcano that comes to a sharp peak and is covered by a cap of snow.
CREDIT: NPS / FOVA
RELATED TEXT:
In 1855, artist Gustavus Sohon visited Fort Vancouver. His illustration shows a community shifting from a fur trading fort to a military post. A Catholic mission occupies the lower left of the scene.
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