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Fort Vancouver, a Hudson’s Bay Company fur trade post, was originally constructed in 1825 by doctor and merchant John McLoughlin. The Oregon Treaty of 1846, which placed the fort in American territory, forced the company to transfer its depot to Fort Victoria in 1849.
Location
Fort Vancouver was originally located about 150 km inland on the north bank of the Columbia River, 8 km above the mouth of the Willamette. In 1829, the site was shifted closer to the Columbia, about 2 km west of the old fort. The newer structure is Fort Vancouver, the remains of which were unearthed and are now a historic monument in Vancouver, Washington.
Functions
Strategically located to protect British interests, Fort Vancouver was Hudson’s Bay Company's Columbia District headquarters, and all trading and shipping operations west of the Rockies were directed from it. The fort was enclosed by a large stockade and was self-supporting, with farming, fishing and sawmilling being developed adjacent to it.
When Britain and the United States signed the Oregon Treaty in 1846, the newly formalized border west of the Rockies meant that Fort Vancouver was now located on American land and had to be moved. The Hudson’s Bay Company relocated its depot in 1849 to nearby Fort Victoria, which was abandoned around a decade later.
(See also Canadian-American Relations.)
