Last updated: January 29, 2021
Place
The Sutler's Store
NPS Photo
Quick Facts
Location:
Vancouver, WA
Significance:
Location of the Sutler's Store
MANAGED BY:
Amenities
1 listed
Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits
The north end of this parking lot at the intersection of Hatheway Road and Fort Vancouver Way was once the location of Vancouver Barracks' Sutler's Store.
Until the late 19th century, the U.S. Army awarded sales commissions to civilian traders, known as sutlers. Each post or regiment was authorized to appoint one. Described as "a combination of saloon keeper and general store operator," the sutlers supplied troops with goods and food to supplement army rations.
The first sutler at Vancouver Barracks was Elisha Camp, who came with the 4th Infantry in 1852. By all accounts, Camp ran a profitable enterprise selling diverse items such as coffee, flour, liquor, tobacco, crockery, wool socks, and toothbrushes. However, after less than a year in Vancouver, his store mysteriously "exploded." Camp returned to the East Coast leaving behind at least one unhappy investor: a young Brevet Captain named Ulysses S. Grant. A successor soon rebuilt the store, and the sutler tradition continued until being replaced by Vancouver Barracks' post canteen, the first in the military.
Until the late 19th century, the U.S. Army awarded sales commissions to civilian traders, known as sutlers. Each post or regiment was authorized to appoint one. Described as "a combination of saloon keeper and general store operator," the sutlers supplied troops with goods and food to supplement army rations.
The first sutler at Vancouver Barracks was Elisha Camp, who came with the 4th Infantry in 1852. By all accounts, Camp ran a profitable enterprise selling diverse items such as coffee, flour, liquor, tobacco, crockery, wool socks, and toothbrushes. However, after less than a year in Vancouver, his store mysteriously "exploded." Camp returned to the East Coast leaving behind at least one unhappy investor: a young Brevet Captain named Ulysses S. Grant. A successor soon rebuilt the store, and the sutler tradition continued until being replaced by Vancouver Barracks' post canteen, the first in the military.