Last updated: October 18, 2021
Place
Fort Okanogan Interpretive Center
Photograph by Kristen Heidenthal, courtesy of Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation
Quick Facts
Location:
14379 State Route 17 Brewster, WA 98812
Significance:
Architecture, Entertainment/Recreation
Designation:
Listed in the National Register – Reference number 100002814
MANAGED BY:
The Fort Okanogan Interpretive Center is located east of Brewster, Washington, on the Colville Indian Reservation. It sits on a high bluff above the Columbia River, overlooking the remains of the two Fort Okanogans (1811, c.1830) as well as the river delta. The Fort Okanogan Interpretive Center was dedicated on August 27, 1960, and interprets the history of the Fort Okanogan Trading post, wich operated from 1811-1860.
Fort Okanogan was the first official Euro American trading post in the north central Washington area and was the first site in the future state that would raise the American flag. For thousands of years the site at the mouth of the Okanogan River was a large fishery were native people had gathered to fish, trade, and socialize. In 1811, Alexander Ross and David Stuart, employees with John Jacob Astor’s Pacific Fur Company, decided to capitalize on this important location and built a trading post on the banks of the river; naming it Fort Okanogan. Around 1830 the Northwest Company (later managed by the Hudson’s Bay Company) built a new fort about 1 mile south of the original fort. These fur companies relied heavily upon local Native people to facilitate trade and operate the trading post. Interest in Fort Okanogan as an important historical site dated back to 1911 when the two fort sites had been marked by a flagpoles by community members. The following year the Washington State Historical Society, with the help of the superintendent of the Colville Indian Reservation, acquired ownership of the sites through a petition to Congress.
While interest in the sites remained throughout the 1920s and 30s, little was done towards long term preservation, documentation and/or interpretation efforts. With National Park Service support, the first detailed scientific study of the Fort Okanogan sites began in 1952. Facilitating the excavation of the Fort Okanogan sites was the Triangle Club of Brewster, a women’s civic club, who eight years prior had took over preservation of the sites as a club project. Finally in 1958 it was announced that the Washington State Parks Commission had acquired a 40 acre site and would build a new historical museum dedicated to the history of Fort Okanogan. The interpretive center was part of a massive building campaign which created 13 new state parks within a short two-year period at the closing of the 1950s. When it was dedicated in 1960, the center was the culmination of nearly twenty years of effort by a variety of groups including local residences, the Triangle Club, the Confederated Tribes of the Colville, the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Washington State Parks & Recreation Commission.
Partial success for the Fort Okanogan Interpretive Center was given to the architectural firm of Durham, Anderson & Freed, who created a unique, one-of-a-kind structure that captured the imagination of the public. Principle Robert Durham designed a triangular structure which would house a mural of the only known historical drawing of the original fort in its lobby. His goal was to “create a structure so different from anything else in the area that it will attract tourists” from the highway nearby.To construct the new museum for the State, the Soap Lake firm of Hansen & Herman where hired. Thor Albert Herman, better known as T.A., and his son Joe were the principle builders for the project. The landscape architect was Dwayne Nelson. By November of 1959, they had the basic shape of the building complete, which was already creating a buzz in the local community due to its unusual architecture. The forty foot tall roof was visible from the nearby community of Brewster.
With much excitement a formal dedication ceremony was held on August 27, 1960. The local newspaper, the Herald-Reporter featured a special newspaper insert dedicated to the event. Dignitaries from Great Britain, Canada and Washington State Governor Albert Rosellini attended the event. Archaeological investigations at the two fort sites and nearby Indian villages continued after the interpretive center opened. For over four summers, archaeological teams from the University of Washington discovered over 3,500 artifacts relating to the fort.
The Fort Okanogan Interpretive Center is one of the best representations of the post war expansion program of the Washington State Park & Recreation system. It shows how groups of individual came together to protect, document and celebrate one of the States most important historical resources. Architecturally it demonstrates the exploratory nature of the architecture of that period and shows how it was adapted in the north central Washington State.
On January 21, 2011, the Center was gifted to the Confederated Tribes of the Colville (CCT) Reservation by the State of Washington with a signed Governor’s deed. The transfer was part of a state wide closure plan of several parks in 2008. In 2013, the exhibits and storyline were updated to tell a more comprehensive history of the CCT and interpret the fur trade through a Native perspective.
Fort Okanogan was the first official Euro American trading post in the north central Washington area and was the first site in the future state that would raise the American flag. For thousands of years the site at the mouth of the Okanogan River was a large fishery were native people had gathered to fish, trade, and socialize. In 1811, Alexander Ross and David Stuart, employees with John Jacob Astor’s Pacific Fur Company, decided to capitalize on this important location and built a trading post on the banks of the river; naming it Fort Okanogan. Around 1830 the Northwest Company (later managed by the Hudson’s Bay Company) built a new fort about 1 mile south of the original fort. These fur companies relied heavily upon local Native people to facilitate trade and operate the trading post. Interest in Fort Okanogan as an important historical site dated back to 1911 when the two fort sites had been marked by a flagpoles by community members. The following year the Washington State Historical Society, with the help of the superintendent of the Colville Indian Reservation, acquired ownership of the sites through a petition to Congress.
While interest in the sites remained throughout the 1920s and 30s, little was done towards long term preservation, documentation and/or interpretation efforts. With National Park Service support, the first detailed scientific study of the Fort Okanogan sites began in 1952. Facilitating the excavation of the Fort Okanogan sites was the Triangle Club of Brewster, a women’s civic club, who eight years prior had took over preservation of the sites as a club project. Finally in 1958 it was announced that the Washington State Parks Commission had acquired a 40 acre site and would build a new historical museum dedicated to the history of Fort Okanogan. The interpretive center was part of a massive building campaign which created 13 new state parks within a short two-year period at the closing of the 1950s. When it was dedicated in 1960, the center was the culmination of nearly twenty years of effort by a variety of groups including local residences, the Triangle Club, the Confederated Tribes of the Colville, the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Washington State Parks & Recreation Commission.
Partial success for the Fort Okanogan Interpretive Center was given to the architectural firm of Durham, Anderson & Freed, who created a unique, one-of-a-kind structure that captured the imagination of the public. Principle Robert Durham designed a triangular structure which would house a mural of the only known historical drawing of the original fort in its lobby. His goal was to “create a structure so different from anything else in the area that it will attract tourists” from the highway nearby.To construct the new museum for the State, the Soap Lake firm of Hansen & Herman where hired. Thor Albert Herman, better known as T.A., and his son Joe were the principle builders for the project. The landscape architect was Dwayne Nelson. By November of 1959, they had the basic shape of the building complete, which was already creating a buzz in the local community due to its unusual architecture. The forty foot tall roof was visible from the nearby community of Brewster.
With much excitement a formal dedication ceremony was held on August 27, 1960. The local newspaper, the Herald-Reporter featured a special newspaper insert dedicated to the event. Dignitaries from Great Britain, Canada and Washington State Governor Albert Rosellini attended the event. Archaeological investigations at the two fort sites and nearby Indian villages continued after the interpretive center opened. For over four summers, archaeological teams from the University of Washington discovered over 3,500 artifacts relating to the fort.
The Fort Okanogan Interpretive Center is one of the best representations of the post war expansion program of the Washington State Park & Recreation system. It shows how groups of individual came together to protect, document and celebrate one of the States most important historical resources. Architecturally it demonstrates the exploratory nature of the architecture of that period and shows how it was adapted in the north central Washington State.
On January 21, 2011, the Center was gifted to the Confederated Tribes of the Colville (CCT) Reservation by the State of Washington with a signed Governor’s deed. The transfer was part of a state wide closure plan of several parks in 2008. In 2013, the exhibits and storyline were updated to tell a more comprehensive history of the CCT and interpret the fur trade through a Native perspective.