Fort Vancouver and the Hudson's Bay Company

Hudson's Bay Company Establishes Fort Vancouver in 1825.

Fort Vancouver was established in 1825 as a British Fur Trade post founded by the Hudson's Bay Company. There were actually two Fort Vancouvers, the first operated from 1825-1829 and the second from 1829-1860. The second fort was documented extensively and was the basis for the current accurate reconstruction of the Fort Vancouver National Site that now stands on second Fort's footprint.
Hudson's Bay Company was established at Fort George, Astoria, but the HBC Governor George Simpson recommended a move to the South Side of the Columbia River to stake a firm boundary claim between Great Britain and the United States. Simpson sent Chief Factors Dr. John McLoughlin (a French-Canadian) and Alexander Kennedy to scout the spot for the new Fort.
Camas flowers - the roots are edible and were being cultivated by local Indigenous people.
A smaller reconstruction of Dr. McLoughlin's garden at Fort Vancouver.
For more information on this amazing garden, which was started in 1828, visit HERE.
This is still a working garden, maintained by volunteers and now open to the public for visits.
Edible camas root bulbs are around 1-2 inches long and made up part of the diet of the local Native people in the Vancouver area.
McLoughlin and Kennedy traveled along the Columbia until they found the beautiful three-mile plain they called Jolie Prairie, about 1.25 miles from the river, where the Fort Vancouver National Historic Site stands. The prairie was a camas field that was maintained and used by area Indigenous people to grow and harvest a staple of their diet, the starchy camas root. There is an interesting history with Lewis and Clark becoming ill from the roots, which are reported to taste like pumpkin. Serves the colonizers right! John McLoughlin received a license to practice medicine in 1803 in Quebec, Canada and is called the "Father of Oregon" due to his contributions. He also had heavy ties to Oregon City, another town with strange history and connections to our story.
Part of the interpretive orchard, planted in 1962.
The main entrance gate at Fort Vancouver.
Crows doing crow things at the bastion.
The capable and experienced McLoughlin served as Chief Factor of the new Fort. Under McLoughlin’s supervision, construction of the Fort began sometime between November 1824. By March of 1825 the structures inside the picketed stockade included a dwelling house, two store houses, an "Indian Hall", and temporary quarters which were likely tents for a diverse set of employees, including many Native Americans and Native Hawaiians. This diversity led to a variety of ways building materials were created for the Fort, including bricks installed with mortar made from coral traced to Oahu! This settlement was supposed to be temporary as Simpson eventually intended to move the Fort to a permanent location in New Caledonia (now British Columbia) along the Fraser River. Even though the location was meant to be temporary, McLoughlin got to work planting potato fields and other crops almost immediately in the rich soil, and livestock was brought in from Fort George, Astoria.
By 1829 Simpson recognized the advantages of remaining in the current location. The soil and climate were ideal for growing, it was a prime trade location, and the Columbia was easily navigable compared to the Fraser. Due to the distance from the river, the HBC built this second Fort in 1829 at a location closer to the Columbia River.
The circle of reused Hidden bricks in Camas.
Grass Valley Park, home of the Hidden circle.

Hidden Bricks in Camas, Washington.

A short distance down the river east from Vancouver is the city of Camas, a community first named "La Camas" due to the presence of edible Camas flowers and bulbs. This city's history is also tied to Hidden bricks. For an awesome walking tour of downtown Camas, check out this site.
La Camas was intended to function as a center of industry and was founded without plans for a residential settlement. A Portland newspaper owner named Henry L. Pittock (1835-1919) decided to build a new paper mill, and a new town grew up to support it. Pittock already owned a paper mill in Oregon City and had built a second on the Clackamas River, but these were insufficient to satisfy the market. In 1883 Pittock and partners formed the La Camas Colony Company, and they put Don Stearns in charge of the project. Stearns left Camas in 1884 but came back and settled permanently later in July 1886. "The Oregonian", the paper Pittock eventually owned after working his way up starting as a typesetter, discussed the industrial plans in a January 4, 1884 article, where it noted that "Conservative businessmen of Portland ... are developing the idea of an industrial colony on a purely business basis." A fun side note is that Pittock's palatial home in Portland Oregon is notoriously haunted. Until the recent years when the majority of newer paper mill recently closed, locals knew that the "rotten egg" smell that would make its way in towards Vancouver was from the paper mill. "Augh, Camas!" was a typical refrain when the winds changed.
The haunted Pittock Mansion in Portland, OR.
Crows at the La Camas Paper Mill today, downtown Camas.
The first La Camas paper mill was built in 1884, when steamboats took the finished product down the Columbia towards town. This mill led to the establishment of stores in town and the "accidental town" of La Camas, which is now just known as "Camas". This first mill burned in November 1886.
On May 3, 1888 the new mill opened for business and the town revived. This new La Camas paper mill was constructed from Hidden bricks, as was the future Boise Cascade Mill expansion.
Today, in Camas near a residential neighborhood is a park called Grass Valley Park. They have repurposed some of the Hidden bricks from the Camas Paper Mill as a tribute to the history of the area. The circle is near the covered picnic area by the playground equipment.
La Camas Paper Mill, circa 1900, Hidden bricks.

The Many Bricks of the Fort Vancouver National Historic Site.

Most bricks found at Fort Vancouver are categorized as being English or American, and it is fairly easy to distinguish them from each other due to color. American bricks are the "red brick" we are used to seeing with Hiddens and others, while English bricks range from yellow-grey to dark purple in color. The wide variance in 19th century English bricks has to do with how things like streetsweeping debris and coal bits were mixed in the clay as part of the tempering process. Materials used for tempering also greatly affected the quality of the finished product. Most English bricks arrived to the Fort Vancouver area from ships where they were used as ballast, weight to help balance the ship.
A peek throughthe slot in the front gate of Fort Vancouver National Site.
John McLoughlin mentioned in official documents receiving English bricks that had been originally intended for use at Fort George in Astoria, bemoaning their “very inferior quality,” but approved of their use in constructing chimneys at the first Fort. A smaller reconstruction of his (formerly private) garden is maintained at the Fort by a dedicated crew of volunteers. Here's a peek:
Some of the most important bricks at Fort Vancouver belong to the Bake House, which was enlarged twice due to the growing needs of the Fort. Each time they rebuilt the oven required shipping thousands of bricks from London. Bricks could take up to two years to arrive, which is why there were so many early brickmakers in the area. The Hidden Brick Company outlasted them all! Birds and bunnies tend to congregate around this building.
American bricks were also brought in from the Willamette Valley (near Oregon City) or California. Beginning around 1840 the Hudson's Bay Company also began making bricks at the Fort Vancouver site, adding to the diversity of the buildings. L.M. Hidden was one of these early brickmakers as an employee of the Hudson's Bay Company. Beginning in 1871 the Hidden Brick Company also contributed bricks to Fort Vancouver, and many are visible in the old haunted Post Hospital building.

The Famous Fort Vancouver "Kitty Brick."

One of the most intriguing things we learned about Fort Vancouver was the discovery of ancient Roman bricks found in pits at the site. SJ's favorite thing they found there is an ancient brick with a pair of 2,000 year old cat prints imprinted in it! Anyone that has ever shared their life with a cat can tell you, cats do what they want... maybe that's why we love the adorable little jerks so much. Even 2,000 years ago they walked wherever they damn well pleased, including a brick drying in the sun.
Possibly SJ's favorite brick of all time, the famous Roman "Kitty Brick".
In 1982 an archaeologist and brick identification expert (BIG GOALS!) named Karl Gurcke was working at Fort Vancouver and took another look at some red bricks found in the 1950s that looked suspiciously like ancient Roman bricks. Tests have now proven that he was correct!
It wasn't uncommon in the 19th century for people in England to deconstruct Roman ruins or cobblestone roads and "recycle" the bricks for newer building projects. Many of these bricks were packed into ships, made it over to Fort George in Astoria and then down the Columbia River to Fort Vancouver.
Visitors can see the now world famous "Kitty Brick," but because it’s being stored in a special climate-controlled room, you must call and make a viewing appointment ahead of time.

Fort Vancouver's Post Hospital - The Infamous Building 614.

One of the most terrifying haunted sites SJ's ever been to is the Fort's Post Hospital. Built in 1884, the Hospital was initially two separate buildings that were joined together in the 1970s. The construction of Interstate 5 led to moving the southern building 614 and attaching it to the first building that was at the present site.
The Hospital was built with bricks to help with sanitation and has open verandas to provide light and fresh air to convalescing soldiers. There are several types of bricks used in the building, including Hidden bricks, that were used when 614 was moved to the current site and the different bricks are clearly visible.
Until the end of World War I, the Post Hospital was considered one of the most modern military hospitals in the nation. The hospital became Army offices after 1940 when the new Barnes Hospital was built in town to serve the soldiers. The first and second floors of this building were offices, wards, and operating rooms. The third floor was the psychological ward and storage. At the time the hospital was built, hand washing with soap was a fairly new surgical practice, and open fractures were still being treated by amputations.
In 1918 during the flu epidemic there were only 400 beds in the Post Hospital, but somehow over 2,550 patients were treated on site in tents and other temporary facilities. This building has seen a lot of suffering. Employees have complained about frustrations with the front door. They reported locking the building at night and returning the next morning to discover it unlocked. They experimented with putting tape over the door and lock to see if it was opened or disturbed overnight. Each morning the door was somehow unlocked and the tape was unbroken - who ever was unlocking the door was doing it from the inside.
Screaming and laughing on the third floor has been reported as well as bizarre stories of papers floating to the ceiling and hovering there. The basement, which at once point contained the hospital's morgue and where the pipes containing the blood from the operating theatre drained to, seems to be a trouble spot.
Terrifying reports of shaking tables, footsteps, yells, thrown items, and phantom flushing toilets have sent experienced investigators packing in the middle of the night. It is common to record EVPs around or in this building. SJ has never investigated overnight here nor do they want to, the energy here is beyond unsettling. They would describe it as feeling like a forcefield is trying to keep you away from the building, especially the North side.
There are lots of walnut trees around the property, and several wonderful giant trees near by to ground yourself on after you get sick of the creepy vibes from this place. From the North steps of the Hospital you have a bird's eye view of the Academy, their continued association throughtout time makes sense once you realize the proximity. Local news reports discuss possible plans to make this building into a mixed use community center of offices and studios.
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