Watch a Carpenter Work at Fort Vancouver

See building methods from the 1800s at the Fort Vancouver Carpenter Shop.

Photo: Frank Lahman

At Fort Vancouver, you can watch a carpenter at work building furniture and building fixtures just as they would have done at Fort Vancouver in the 19th century!

Walking into the reconstructed Carpenter Shop today, you may be greeted by the shushing sound of a hand plane smoothing a board and the smell of fresh cut lumber. This experience is not much different than you may have experienced in the 1840s. Historically, the carpenters at the fort would have been very busy. Their responsibilities included not only building the actual structures of the fort but also fashioning doors and windows as well as much of the furniture used in the buildings.

Working alongside the carpenters would have been wheelwrights, shipwrights, and coopers producing implements for the farms, ships and warehouses of the Hudson's Bay Company.

 

To supply the wood workers with material, the Company constructed and operated a water powered sawmill upstream from the fort in 1828. This was the first saw mill operated in the Pacific Northwest. The mill provided all the lumber necessary for the carpenters and produced enough surplus lumber to provide material for export to places such as Hawaii and Mexican California.
 

Visit the Carpenter Shop and talk with the staff and volunteers to learn about the importance of the woodworker’s occupation at the Hudson's Bay Company's Fort Vancouver. The Carpenter Shop is volunteer based. To check if there are carpentry demonstrations on the day of your visit, call the Fort Vancouver Contact Station at [phone] on the morning of your visit.

Learn more about the Carpenter Shop at Fort Vancouver here.

Details

Duration

5-30 Minutes

Activity

Living History

Pets Allowed

No

Pets are not allowed inside the reconstructed Fort Vancouver.

Activity Fee

Yes

Entrance fees to the reconstructed fort can be paid at the Contact Station just inside the fort gates. Learn more about fees and passes here.

Location

The Fort Vancouver Carpenter Shop

Once inside the stockade of the reconstructed Fort Vancouver, follow the paths to the west, around the white Counting House. A national park ranger at the Contact Station just inside the fort gates can help direct you.

Reservations

No

Season

Year Round

Time of Day

Day

Carpentry demonstrations are provided when volunteers are present. Please call [phone] to find out if there will be a demonstration on the day of your visit.

Accessibility Information

The Carpenter Shop is wheelchair accessible. The trails leading to and inside the Carpenter Shop are made of decomposed granite. Please be aware of bumps and dips at the entrances to the building. The Carpenter Shop is often low lit and can be dark, especially on cloudy days. Please watch your step and give yourself time to adjust to the low light.