Fort Vancouver Cultural Landscape Report

HISTORIC CHARACTER DEFINING FEATURES (continued)

STRUCTURES

Information about building styles and construction techniques is generally derived from research and knowledge about the buildings in the stockade and some from structures in Kanaka Village. Two main building styles were used at Fort Vancouver, Canadian style and frame construction. Buildings constructed in the Canadian style were known as either "post-on-the-sill" or "pile-in-the-ground", depending on their foundation construction. Post-on-the-sill foundations consisted of sills resting on wooden blocks with walls created by placing grooved uprights on the sills, six to ten feet apart and fitting sawed (or hewn) horizontal timbers onto the grooves. The roofs consisted of plates, placed on top of the uprights, with rafters attached to them. Roofs were either covered the with one foot wide, by one inch thick sawed boards or shingles. For pile-in-the-ground foundations, the framing posts extended from the walls into prepared holes.

Frame structures apparently existed at the fort but seem to have been the exception. Also, they were probably not light "balloon frame" buildings, but instead buildings with superstructures similar to Canadian style, with heavy timbers for sills, upright posts, and plates. They differed from Canadian style by using nailed board siding or slab siding.

Squared timber and log houses noted in historic references also probably used the same construction technique, but differed in their treatment of wall material; using hand hewn (or sawed) square timbers, or unshaped, round timbers. [18]

Stockade and vicinity

Stockade

The stockade itself was constructed of closely fitted vertical logs (mainly Douglas-fir) from five to thirteen inches in diameter, with the larger posts used in the corners. Around the inside stockade wall, horizontal cross pieces, pegged or notched into the logs, lay about four feet from the top. The cross pieces were about thirteen feet long and were mortised at the ends into larger posts called "king posts".

The height of the stockade until 1845 was estimated by visitors to be between eighteen and twenty-five feet above the ground. After 1845, estimates ranged between twelve to twenty feet, with fifteen feet cited most frequently. By 1841, when the stockade dimensions were 732-734 feet east-west, by 318 feet north-south, three gates existed; two on the south side and one on the north. The north gate was about 212 feet from the stockade's northeast corner and probably measured twelve feet wide. The southeast gate was 10.75 feet wide, while the southwest (original) gate, which was 164.5 feet east of the southwest corner, was thirteen feet wide.

Structures within the Stockade

Most of buildings inside the stockade were built in the Canadian style with "post-on-the-sill" foundations. Until the mid-1840s, the roofs were covered with one-foot-wide, by one-inch-thick sawed boards. By 1845-46, most of these boards were replaced by shingles. Roofs appeared to have been simple gable roofs early in the stockade's history, but by 1846 eight of the principal buildings had hip roofs.

The third bakery, located in the stockade interior, was constructed in Canadian Style, a style typical of Fort Vancouver and the fur-trading industry.

In ca. 1844-46, there were twenty-five major structures in the stockade. Generally, the buildings were clustered into two courtyards, with storehouses on the west side and residences, administration, and service buildings on the east side. The west courtyard consisted of storehouses lining the north, west and south sides of the courtyard, with the old office and the old Catholic church located on the east side of the courtyard. In the northwest corner of the stockade was a bastion, constructed in 1845. The east courtyard contained residences and associated structures. Residences included the Chief Factor's House and kitchen, the Priest's house, and bachelor's quarters, and wash house. Administrative buildings included the new office and the jail, while support buildings or workshops included the Indian trade shop (and dispensary), bake house, harness shop, and blacksmith's shop. Buildings with social functions included the Owyhee church and schoolhouse. Storehouses included the iron store. Due to the large amount of detailed information about stockade buildings already included in other documents, they will not be described separately in this report.

Structures and features in the Fort Vancouver stockade at the height of the site's development in 1844/46. (click on image for a enlargement in a new window)

Detailed information about the exterior appearance and finish of structures is scarce. The Chief Factor's House, Priest's house, new office, European sales shop, and one other building, were weatherboarded and it appears that some buildings were white-washed. White-washed buildings included the Chief Factor's House, the new office, wheat store/granary and possibly the bake house. It is uncertain if the remainder of the buildings were white-washed or not. [19]

1860 British Boundary Commission photograph showing structures in the stockade including, from left right, the Priest's house, Chief Factor's house, and Bachelors quarters. Note small-scale features such as the third belfry and the wood plank road. Fort Vancouver N.H.S. photo file.

In addition to the wheat store, there were several minor buildings within the stockade that were of frame construction rather than Canadian style construction. They were described by an 1841 visitor as being built of puncheons (split logs or heavy slabs) set in a frame. [20] A covered wooden catwalk connecting the upper floors of the new store and the sale shop appears to have existed between 1829 and 1860. The powder magazine was constructed of bricks imported from England.

Outlying structures

Several buildings were located immediately outside the southeast corner of the stockade. The number and location of buildings varies on historic illustrations; however, according to two reliable drawings, there are three gable-roof buildings sited parallel to the stockade wall. The closest building to the stockade is labeled "Cooper's shed" and was listed on the 1846/47 inventory as being seventy by thirty feet. The two eastern buildings may have been dwellings. Archaeologcal excavations have uncovered several structures in the area, including a building tentatively identified as the cooper's shed, a privy, a pre-1841 building within the pre-1841-44 expanded stockade wall, and possibly other structures outside the wall. [21]

There were also several structures related to agricultural operations in the vicinity of the stockade. Most of these structures, except the barn complex, were located south of Upper Mill Road, east of the river road, and along the river. These buildings are as follows:

Summerhouse

Where there is little doubt that the garden summerhouse, mentioned by Narcissa Whitman, and depicted in several illustrations, existed, details about its construction and location are incomplete and inconsistent. The Stanley drawing shows a hip-roofed structure, apparently open-sided, with vertical posts supporting the roof, braced by horizontal beams halfway between the ground and roof. The Hodges sketch also shows a hip-roofed structure, but the Kane sketch shows a gable or cross-gabled roofed structure. They all appear to be in approximately the same location, along the northern edge of the north, middle-garden bed.

Root Cellars

Two historic drawings indicate that between 1844 and 1847, there two structures used to store potatoes and other root crops. These buildings were located in the northwest corner of the field north of the stockade. An 1844 reference to a new potato cellar constructed "at the upper end of the back road", was most likely the westernmost building. Three root houses, sixty by twenty feet, were listed on the 1846/47 inventory. Two of these were most likely the two structures shown in the drawings. The location of the third root cellar is unknown. After 1847, none of these structures appear on any maps or drawings.

1846 Stanley painting showing outlying structures along Upper Mill Road including the root houses, the summerhouse, and schoolhouse. Also note cold (or hot) frames on the east (left) side of the garden. Fort Vancouver N.H.S. photo file.

Unidentified orchard structure

On the 1846 Covington map, west of the orchard and along the river road, there is a structure that measures approximately ninety by forty-five feet. To date, no other information is known about this structure.

Barn Complex

Barns used to store grains and livestock food were located adjacent to cultivated fields associated with the Fort Vancouver farms. Information remains unclear about a complex of buildings of the 1844 "Line of Fire Map" labeled "Barn", located on the north side of Upper Mill Road, northeast of the stockade.

The first reference to a barn was in 1829 and while its location is unknown, it is possible it was one of the barn buildings in the 1844 complex. Since agricultural activities probably began close to the stockade and expanded out from it, it makes sense that agricultural implements, threshing mills, and storage space for large quantities of produce, needed to be located near the stockade. The location of the barn complex was logical because it provided access to fields, the stockade, roads and the early grist mill.

By 1844, the barn complex consisted of several buildings, although historic references do not agree on the number of structures. The 1844 "Line of Fire Map" shows five buildings, the 1844 Peers map shows three, and in 1838 it was reported that "Outside the fort there [was] "a large and commodious barn, and seven buildings attached thereto". It appears that the buildings in the complex were used to house a threshing machine, and to store grain and "... a number of iron screens and agricultural implements."

The complete complex burned during the September 1844 fire. Losses in the fire were reported as, "a large barn...the largest built was at least 100 by 40 or 50 feet wide two stories high, built in Canadian style... three threshing floors... [and] about 3000 bushels of oats, pease & other grain..." Apparently, a single barn was rebuilt in the same location in 1845. The new barn was probably demolished in 1853-54.

Dwellings and stable

Southeast of the stockade, along the Columbia River, there were three dwellings and a stable, depicted on the 1846 Covington maps. Two dwellings are labeled as "servant's house" and the third as "Drake's House"; they measure approximately thirty to forty feet long by thirty feet wide. The stable, is labeled as "Modeste stables", and was apparently built by the crew and/or officers of the ship Modeste. The dwellings may also have been constructed by the Modeste crew. The stables were rented by the U.S. Army for two years beginning in 1849.

There were also four other structures shown on the Covington map that were on the eastern half of Fort Plain, outside the current park boundary. The buildings included a piggery, a barn, and two unidentified structures near a cultivated field, probably also barns.

Upper Mill Road building corridor

In addition to the cultivated field and barn complex north of Upper Mill Road, there were several service-related structures and/or civic buildings constructed near the road. These included:

Schoolhouses

In 1844, construction began on two, two-story buildings designated as schoolhouses located west of a cultivated field. The buildings were forty by fifty feet and had hip roofs. Construction appears to have taken place over a number of years. As late as 1849, when the U.S. Army rented the buildings, they were noted as being unfinished. The building site was fenced by 1851. It appears that the HBC never put them into operation as schools.

The army used the eastermmost building as a barracks from 1849-1852. In 1851, they altered the building by adding a shed with eaves that extended to the ground. By 1854 the entire building was gone. The western building was used by the army as a storehouse between 1849 and 1853/54, and as a combination hospital and ordnance storeroom in 1854. It was still rented by the army as late as 1860.

Ryan's

A structure located east of the old grist mill, and labeled "Ryan's" on an 1846 Covington map, was presumably a dwelling that was built ca. 1845-46. Little is known about the structure, which stood for less than a decade, or about Ryan. It is possible the reference to Ryan was to William Ryan, a naturalized American citizen, who made land claims on HBC property on Fort Plain late in the 1840s. Since there is no indication that he was a Company employee, it is not known why he was allowed to build or live there. The building on the 1846 map measures about thirty by twenty feet, and according to the 1851 Gibbs sketch, it had a gable roof.

Stable

Northeast of "Ryan's" on the 1846 Covington map, is another structure labeled as a "stable". It is not known if it was originally a Company building, but in 1849, the U.S. Army rented the building from the HBC. The rental rolls listed it as a "private stable." According to the 1846 map, it measures about ninety by thirty feet. It may be the gable-roofed structure shown on the 1851 Gibbs sketch.

Grist Mill

One of the first buildings in the area above Upper Mill Road, was a horse and ox-powered grist mill constructed in 1828-1829. It was used to grind all the Company's grain into flour until 1838-39, when it was replaced by a water-powered mill located five miles east on the Columbia River. The "old" grist mill was still standing in 1846. Other than its size, which measures approximately thirty by ninety feet on the 1846 Covington stockade map, no other details about the building are known.

St. James Mission

In 1838, Fort Vancouver became the headquarters for Catholic priests serving as missionaries under a cooperative agreement between the Bishop of Juliopolis at Red River in Canada, and George Simpson of the HBC. Initially, services were held in the chaplain's kitchen/schoolhouse in the stockade, but by 1839, one of the original store buildings was set aside to be used as a church for Protestants and Catholics. By 1844 or 1845, Father Blanchet, a Catholic priest, was given permission by the Company to build a new church on land northwest of the stockade. The church, named St. James the Greater, was built at Company expense and was completed in the winter of 1845-46. In 1846/47, two structures were listed as associated with the Catholic Church, the New Catholic Church and an adjoining rectory.

The church was a two-story, gable-roofed structure, with a twelve-foot wide interior gallery and an angled apse at its north end, with a shed-roofed addition in the rear. The rectory, attached to the east side of the church, was a one-story structure, thirty by twenty-one feet, with a gable roof and a shed roofed addition on the north.

The church complex continued to expand during the remainder of the Company's occupancy at Fort Vancouver between 1847 and 1860. Although the Catholic church claimed 640 acres in 1853 under the donation land claim act, the HBC clearly considered the church and its land Company property. During 1849 and 1850, the U.S. Army rented space from the Company for its officers in the church rectory and in the nearby employee dwellings. By 1851, the structure and a portion of the adjoining grounds were enclosed with a zigzag fence. There was also a small lean-to, probably a bell ringer's hut or storeroom, located north of the church.

1854 G. Sohon illustration showing St. James Catholic church, and orchard (center), the US. Army's Camp Vancouver (left), and the HBC's Fort Vancouver (right). Fort Vancouver N.H.S. photo file.

Between 1852 and 1855, the church's enclosure, which appeared to be subdivided into several areas, increased to five acres. The enclosure, fenced with a zigzag or post and rail fence, included a field in the upper half which was planted with an unknown crop, a young orchard and two small structures (originally Company dwellings) west of the church, and one or two structures north of the church.

St. James Mission continued to expand and operate after the Company's departure, reaching its greatest extent in 1874. The church building burned in 1889, and in 1895, after years of legal battles with the army, the U.S. Supreme Court reduced the mission claim to 0.44 acres, which was the size of the property originally held by the church in August, 1848. [22]

Drawing of St. James Mission in 1864 by J.B. Blanchet. Fort Vancouver N.H.S. photo file.

Employee Dwellings

Three Company employee dwellings, part of Kanaka Village, were located north of Upper Mill Road. The date of their construction is unknown. They were first documented in 1844 and in 1846, and are labeled on the 1846 map, from west to east, "Duchenee's", "Lattie's", and "Proulx's". All three buildings appear to have been wood structures with gable-roofs, and Duchenee's and Lattie's had fenced gardens.

Documentation indicates that in the 1850s, these structures were incorporated into the St. James Mission property. The 1851 Gibbs sketch shows fences surrounding the front yards of the two western dwellings (Duchenee's and Lattie's). The fences were either picket or closely-set poles and contained what appeared to be plants arranged in rows, probably a garden. Trees and shrubs were depicted behind both of these dwellings. A post and rail fence enclosed the front yard of the eastern dwelling (Proulx's).

Cemetery

The first reference to the Company cemetery was made in 1833 by William Tolmie. It was not until 1846, however, that a map shows the location of the Hudson's Bay cemetery, north of St. James Mission on the west edge of the prairie. Some of the graves were apparently surrounded with palisades, but most were "merely covered with stones & logs of wood".

While all maps and illustrations depicted the cemetery after 1846 in this location, a 1839 Catholic Church record, referring to "the new cemetery of Fort Vancouver", raises some questions about its initial location. One explanation may be that the "new" cemetery was an addition to the old. This hypothesis is supported by the 1846 map which shows the cemetery divided into two areas by a fence. In the mid 1850s, the cemetery consisted of a single fenced area. The cemetery remained until the mid-1860s when the U.S. Army ordered the graves to be moved to the army cemetery.

Kanaka Village

Buildings in the "village", where lower-ranking HBC employees lived, were probably constructed primarily in the Canadian style, although descriptions by early visitors mention a variety of styles. Visitors noted that the houses were "built of logs, boards, squared slabs from the mill, some of them neatly finished and ceiled". Other buildings were "Canadian fashion, American cottage fashion, framed and weather-boarded, some were of squared timber, and some very few of logs and some few of sawed slabs". Buildings were also reported to be plastered with clay, and usually only one story although some were one-and-one-half stories high.

According to George Gibbs's 1850s sketches, all but one dwelling was "Canadian fashion", and, with one exception, all had gable roofs. One dwelling remotely resembled a frame house. While the main house walls are not visible in the sketches, horizontal and vertical boards or slabs can be seen in the shed, eaves, and front porch. Other features in Gibbs's sketches include sheds attached to one or more of the house walls, and some houses with chimneys.

Archeological excavations indicated the location of thirteen pre-1846 HBC structures. Several have been tentatively labeled using Covington's 1846 map as "Charlebois's", "Little Proulx's", "Billy's", "Kanaka's", "John Johnson's", and a corral. [23] One other building has been tentatively identified as being occupied by Joe Tayenta prior to 1850. Only a few of the existing investigations yielded enough information to identify construction details about the structures.

1851 illustration by George Gibbs. View east from Kanaka Village towards the stockade. Note the Canadian style buildings, the fences, and the four large Douglas-fir trees along Lower Mill Road and one west of the stockade. Fort Vancouver N.H.S. photo file.

John Johnson House

John Johnson's house, constructed between 1825 and 1835, was a twenty by thirteen foot rectangle with a compacted silt loam floor and pile-in-the-ground foundation. In 1846, the structure was enlarged to twenty by nineteen feet and a fence enclosed the yard. Additional outbuildings that were also excavated were probably associated with the 1846 building. Between 1846 and 1857, the structure was enlarged again to thirty-three by twenty-one feet. It was apparently rented by the army in 1854 and described as a one-story log structure. It was demolished in 1857. [24]

Billy's House

The building labelled as Billy's belonged to William R. Kaulehelehe, a Hawaiian preacher. Documentation suggests the building was twenty-five by forty feet, one-and-one-hall stories, covered with clapboard, and had an east-west oriented gable roof covered with shakes or shingles. [25]

Kanaka's House

According to the 1851 Gibbs sketch, Kanaka's house was a one-and-one-half story building with horizontal clapboards, a chimney, and multiple additions attached to the main structure. Additions included a shed on the west, a porch on the south, and possibly a root cellar attached to the porch. The dwelling was gone by 1855.

A corral, located off of Upper Mill Road, across from Lattie's, Duchenee's and Proulx's dwellings, is depicted on an 1846 map and 1851 illustration. It appears to be a three-rail zigzag fence, approximately eighty by forty feet in size.

River Front Area

As with the other structures located outside the stockade and Kanaka Village, little is known about the construction of buildings in the river front area. Based on the construction of other key stockade buildings, the buildings at the river front were probably also Canadian style buildings.

Sheds

Research indicates there were two sheds in the river front area. The 1846 map shows two sheds southeast of the pond, and the 1846-47 inventory lists a one hundred by twenty-four foot boat shed and a ninety by thirty foot building shed. Presumably the sheds on the inventory and map are the same; however, the boat shed on the map measures approximately ninety by forty feet while the shed is about fifty by twenty-five feet. The boat shed on the 1846 map had a gable roof. The construction dates and building styles are presently unknown, although, in 1849, it was noted that the boat houses were "fir posts stuck in the ground, with slab roofs."

The sheds were apparently used for shipbuilding which began early in Fort Vancouver's history. The shipyards were used to build barges, "York boats", and other Columbia River transport boats, and some attempts were made to build ocean craft.

Salmon House and Wharf

Southwest of the pond, on the shore of the river, there was a salmon store or "fish house", used to store cured salmon. On the 1846 Covington map this building measures about one hundred by forty feet and had a hipped roof. The construction date and building style is unknown. The structure may have been more substantially constructed than other buildings in the area because, the army proposed the salmon house be moved rather than be demolished.

Attached to the salmon store was a wharf or jetty that measures about one hundred by twenty-five feet and extends into the water. It probably dated to the time of the construction of the new stockade in 1828-29. In the 1830s, it was noted there were two or three landings on the river, the one referred to as the "lower one" appeared to be the salmon store wharf.

Tan and saw pits

On the 1846 map, but not listed on the inventory, are two structures labeled "tan pits", and one structure labeled "saw pit". The tan pits measure about ten by fifteen feet and eight by eight feet on the 1846 map, and were located east of the pond. These pits were presumably used to process hides, probably mainly cattle hides, and were likely not in use until after 1836 when McLoughlin allowed the first cattle to be killed. The type of construction has not been identified. South of the tan pits was a saw pit, which measures about forty by ten feet. The date of its construction and type of structure is unknown.

Hospital

A hospital, located east of the boat sheds near the river, was listed in the 1846-47 inventory as being thirty-two by twenty-two feet. The hospital on the 1846 map measures slightly larger at about forty by twenty feet. The hospital may have been built as early as 1833, and according to a couple of sources, existed at least by 1838-39. Other than a reference stating there was "a flimsy structure used as a hospital", little other information about the building exists. In 1841, it was noted that the hospital was stockaded and according to the 1846 map, the area north and northwest of the hospital is enclosed (for more details, see the discussion on fences in the "Small-scale Features" section).

Salt House

East of the hospital, near the termination of the river road, was a building used for storing salt imported from Hawaii and England, and used for pickling and curing the Company's salmon, beef, and pork. The building probably dated to the late 1820s. The building measures about thirty by twenty-five feet on the 1846 map, but was listed in the 1846-47 inventory as twenty-seven by twelve feet. Presently, no other information about the structure is available.

Cooper's Shop

Due west of the pond was a "Cooper's Shop" where the Company's barrels were made for shipping salted pork, beef, and salmon. The structure may have dated back to the early 1830s, but it was definitely in use by 1841. On the 1846 map it measures approximately twenty-five by twenty-five feet. The cooper's shop may not have been very substantial according to an 1846 reference which noted the shop was a shed through which the wind and rain blew. According to the 1846 map, the cooper's shop was enclosed on the south and east sides. Research suggests it may have been approximately in the center of a stockade-like enclosure, excavated in 1975 and 1977, that extended down to the hospital (see section on "Small-scale Features").

Dwellings

The 1846 map indicates five "servants" dwellings were located in the river front area. Two were located near the hospital and are labeled "Smith's" and "McLean's". They measure about forty by twenty feet, and twenty-five by fifteen feet, respectively. Northeast of the pond and north of the cooper's shop, were two more dwellings, both located within an enclosure. The northernmost, approximately forty by twenty feet, was occupied some time prior to 1849 by a HBC employee named Scarth. The other was about thirty by fifteen feet and was occupied by HBC employee Robert Johnson. The Scarth, Smith and Johnson houses were later rented to the U.S. Army. The fifth house was a smaller structure, about eighteen by eight feet, located east of the salmon store. The dates of construction for these dwellings are unknown, although at least one dwelling existed "on the bank of the river" in 1841. It is not known if these dwellings resembled the employee dwellings located in Kanaka Village.

Livestock Structures

In 1846, west of the pond and lining the south side of Lower Mill Road, there was a horse stable, an ox stable and two pig sheds. The 1846-47 inventory lists a 105 by 20 foot stable, but on the 1846 map, the stable only measures forty by twenty-five feet. The larger stable on the inventory may have referred to the Modeste stable farther east on Fort Plain. The ox stable, listed as the "ox byre" on the inventory, was forty by twenty-five feet. Two pig sheds on the 1846 map measure about one hundred by fifteen feet each; however, the inventory only lists one piggery at forty by twenty feet. The horse and ox stable appear to have housed working animals for the fort. Details about the dates of construction and the types of construction for these structures are unknown.

Distillery

On the 1846-47 inventory, there was a 132 by 18 foot distillery listed. It was not, however, illustrated on the 1846 map. In fact, its location in the river front area cannot be confirmed until the 1850s when it was noted that a distillery was located near the boat houses and bridge. The distillery apparently was used to make beer and whiskey from barley.

Bridge

A bridge, crossing the narrow mouth of the pond connected to the Columbia River, was first depicted on the 1846 maps. There is no information available on its exact location, or on when and how it was constructed.

Structures Summary and Analysis

Historically, documentation suggests that most of the structures at Fort Vancouver were built in the Canadian style. This type of construction was used throughout Canada during this period and was common in the fur-trade industry. The large number of structures constructed by the HBC on Fort Plain were significant features of the Fort Vancouver landscape.

Today, there are no extant historic structures at Fort Vancouver. There are, however, several structures that were reconstructed in the 1960s and 1970s from extensive archeological, historical, and architectural investigations. Reconstructed structures include the fort stockade and eight buildings within the stockade. The fur store (or warehouse IV) is the latest stockade reconstruction (the eighth). It is currently under construction and will serve as a curatorial storage and exhibit space. These reconstructions are contributing features of the cultural landscape and are listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Presently, in situ structural features, both excavated and undiscovered, constitute the most significant structural features of the cultural landscape. Numerous archeological excavations and studies have revealed a vast amount of historical and architectural information about fur-trading and agricultural operations related specifically to Fort Vancouver, and to the Hudson Bay Company operations as a whole.