Last updated: June 11, 2024
Place
Parade Ground Tour Stop 6: Officers' Row
Clark County Historical Museum, cchm10452
Quick Facts
Amenities
1 listed
Wheelchair Accessible
The buildings across the street are the stately homes of Officers’ Row, where the post’s highest-ranking officers and their families resided. Just across the street from you is the Grant House, named for (though never inhabited by) General Ulysses S. Grant. Grant was stationed at Vancouver Barracks from 1852 to 1854 as a captain and lived south of the Parade Ground in the Quartermaster’s Ranch, located near the present site of the Interstate 5 freeway.
Grant was not the only famous general to spend time at Vancouver Barracks. Civil War Generals Philip Sheridan, George McClellan, and Oliver Otis Howard resided here, many of them living on Officers’ Row. Decades later, General George C. Marshall oversaw operations at the post from 1936 to 1938, before his service in World War II and postwar Europe brought him to the international stage. The Marshall House, located directly across from the Visitor Center, and the Howard House, situated at the far west end of the row, are today named after their most famous inhabitants.
Most of the houses you see today date to the late 19th and early 20th century. By the 1880s, Vancouver Barracks had become a prestige post, desired by both officers and enlisted men for its modern accommodations, entertainment, and recreation, all connected to the bustling cities of Vancouver and Portland. Nowhere was the barracks’ status more apparent than on Officers’ Row, where the post’s elite and their families recreated Victorian high society. The social calendar of Officers’ Row reveals weddings, dinner parties, theater productions, and frequent engagements with the well-to-do of Vancouver and Portland.
The Parade Ground reflected the post’s role as a community center. Holidays such as Fourth of July and Decoration Day, a precursor to today’s Memorial Day, drew crowds from as far away as Oregon City. Such events were more than a gathering. Standing on this parade ground, soldiers and civilians alike reinforced their belonging to the American nation.
Yet not all those who lived on Officers’ Row and witnessed these patriotic celebrations would be welcomed as Americans. The houses that lined the north side of the Parade Ground were also home to civilian workers, many of whom were immigrants from China and Ireland. Since the 1850s, Chinese immigrants had come to the United States for railroad and mining work. Many stayed and found employment, often as cooks, launderers, or small business owners. By the 1880s, six Chinese men resided on Officers’ Row. Guests to the Howard House would have eaten food prepared by Mick Lai, while 19-year-old Ah You washed the clothes worn by General Oliver Greene and his family.
However, in 1882, Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act, banning further Chinese immigration and heavily restricting existing immigrants’ travel between the two countries. Men like Lai and You who already resided in the United States were essentially unable to return to China without losing their American employment and residence. At the same time, they faced increasing anti-Chinese violence throughout the United States. During 1885 and 1886, mobs in Tacoma and Seattle forcibly expelled hundreds of Chinese residents from their homes. Federal troops were dispatched from Vancouver Barracks to quell the violence, but fearing more persecution, many of the cities’ Chinese residents did not return. Despite racist attacks and immigration restrictions, Chinese American communities continued to grow. Many of their descendants make up the vibrant communities in Portland and Vancouver.
Think of a holiday or celebration that is important to you. How does it connect you to your loved ones and your community?
Grant was not the only famous general to spend time at Vancouver Barracks. Civil War Generals Philip Sheridan, George McClellan, and Oliver Otis Howard resided here, many of them living on Officers’ Row. Decades later, General George C. Marshall oversaw operations at the post from 1936 to 1938, before his service in World War II and postwar Europe brought him to the international stage. The Marshall House, located directly across from the Visitor Center, and the Howard House, situated at the far west end of the row, are today named after their most famous inhabitants.
Most of the houses you see today date to the late 19th and early 20th century. By the 1880s, Vancouver Barracks had become a prestige post, desired by both officers and enlisted men for its modern accommodations, entertainment, and recreation, all connected to the bustling cities of Vancouver and Portland. Nowhere was the barracks’ status more apparent than on Officers’ Row, where the post’s elite and their families recreated Victorian high society. The social calendar of Officers’ Row reveals weddings, dinner parties, theater productions, and frequent engagements with the well-to-do of Vancouver and Portland.
The Parade Ground reflected the post’s role as a community center. Holidays such as Fourth of July and Decoration Day, a precursor to today’s Memorial Day, drew crowds from as far away as Oregon City. Such events were more than a gathering. Standing on this parade ground, soldiers and civilians alike reinforced their belonging to the American nation.
Yet not all those who lived on Officers’ Row and witnessed these patriotic celebrations would be welcomed as Americans. The houses that lined the north side of the Parade Ground were also home to civilian workers, many of whom were immigrants from China and Ireland. Since the 1850s, Chinese immigrants had come to the United States for railroad and mining work. Many stayed and found employment, often as cooks, launderers, or small business owners. By the 1880s, six Chinese men resided on Officers’ Row. Guests to the Howard House would have eaten food prepared by Mick Lai, while 19-year-old Ah You washed the clothes worn by General Oliver Greene and his family.
However, in 1882, Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act, banning further Chinese immigration and heavily restricting existing immigrants’ travel between the two countries. Men like Lai and You who already resided in the United States were essentially unable to return to China without losing their American employment and residence. At the same time, they faced increasing anti-Chinese violence throughout the United States. During 1885 and 1886, mobs in Tacoma and Seattle forcibly expelled hundreds of Chinese residents from their homes. Federal troops were dispatched from Vancouver Barracks to quell the violence, but fearing more persecution, many of the cities’ Chinese residents did not return. Despite racist attacks and immigration restrictions, Chinese American communities continued to grow. Many of their descendants make up the vibrant communities in Portland and Vancouver.
Think of a holiday or celebration that is important to you. How does it connect you to your loved ones and your community?