Fort Vancouver Historic Structures Report

Recommendations

a. Archeological exploration of the entire Owyhee Church site is urgently suggested. The primary objective would be to locate the base of the fireplace, a key factor in determining the interior room arrangement. Concentrations of artifacts such as pieces of slates and slate pencils might also provide clues to room locations.

b. It is recommended that the Owyhee Church be reconstructed in accordance with the few available facts as presented in the body of this chapter. Because of the paucity of firm data, a considerable amount of judgment will be required on the part of the architects in settling on the details of room arrangement and finish. Guiding all planning should be the knowledge that this building was roughly constructed and that it was built as a kitchen for the later Priests' House, being thus similar to, but cruder than, the latter.

c. Because the story of the school is so important for revealing social conditions of the period, it is recommended that the schoolroom and the dormitory be refurnished and exhibited. Too little is known at present about the remaining rooms, in the opinion of the writer, to justify refurnishing them.

d. It is proposed that a separate study be conducted to determine the types of classroom furniture and equipment employed in British schools of the 1840s and to identify and collect the books listed in the schoolroom inventories at Fort Vancouver.