Fort Clatsop National Historic Park

Fort Clatsop National Historic Park, Oregon

Site of the Lewis and Clark Winter Encampment 1805-1806
Just outside of Astoria Oregon



First off I am a sucker for National Historic Parks. This is a particularly good one in my view. It is a small park located on the Lewis and Clark River just South of Astoria Oregon. The whole region from Seaside Oregon North into Washington has scattered parks and memorials to this expedition.

Since many members here may not be familiar with Lewis and Clark, here is a very brief introduction. They lead a party of explorers (The Corp of Discovery), from St Louis Missouri to the West Coast of the United States and back. Their mission was to map and document the newly acquired Lousiana Purchase Territory which Thomas Jefferson, the third President of the US, purchased from France.

They overwintered on the coast of Oregon in a fort they constructed on the Clatsop Tribes land.

Fort Clatsop, the last replica which burned to the ground in 2005 and was hastily rebuilt for the Bicentennial Celebration of the Corp of Discovery, is the site of this National Historic Park.

This park is a great place to stop on any tour of the North Oregon Coast. The grounds are nicely located in second growth timber with a small visitors center of displays and the reconstructed fort. A few short trails around the area are also quite nice….one to a view of the river, another to a spring (dried up on our visit).




The fort itself is the centerpiece to the Historic Park.



This construction followed the crude plan found on Captain Clarks journal cover. It consists of four rooms on the right and three on the left. Simple shelters for the members of the expedition to keep them semi dry and warm. The Captain’s revised and updated their journals quite a bit that winter in the second room on the right. This a recreation of their room.



The center courtyard was host to a number of visitors from the Clatsop Tribe, trading elk and other food stuffs for the small amount of trade goods the expedition had left.



There were two interpretive Rangers on duty when we arrived. Hourly demonstrations from quill pen and carbon ink writing, shoe making, to muzzleloader firing were running.



My wife and I had visited this fort many years ago and I must say they did an incredibly good job restoring the replica fort after the fire.

Unlike Clark’s observation of December 21, 1805 “Rain as usial last night and all day to day moderately” our visit was on a grand warm sunny August day.

This is an other famous Wild West report from our correspondent Schwert in the US.

Thank you very much schwert for this fascinating and pictures story. We Europeans like your Wild West stories. Keep going and please let us participate.

Best Wishes
Pius

Thanks Pius. Oregon really does have a beautiful coast all the way from the Columbia to the California border. In 1912 the Oregon legislature set aside all the coast line for public enjoyment. The rocky intertidal areas, huge headlands and sandy beaches really make the Oregon coast a worthwhile visit. The historical significance to this Northern part just adds to the fun.

This sunset at Canon Beach, about 40 miles south of Fort Clatsop.....huge seastacks and a sweeping sand beach....perfect.

WOW! Great sunset picture! Congratulations schwert.
Best..Pius

Schwertz,
WOW (again)!!! That shot is gorgeous!!! I love the way the sun is just barely peeking from behind the rock and the cloud. Good timing.
Steve
(BTW - I assume you were using a CANON camera on CANON Beach???

Absolutely....Canon G9 on that Canon Beach.

Thanks for the shot compliment too. This one was actually pretty easy once I saw that the light was going to be so nice. Canon Beach has a series of seastacks and a wide sandy beach. Low tide was approaching sunset so I knew I would likely have good access to position my shots. Haystack rock which is massive was my original thought for this shot, but I could not capture it well with the G9's wide angle, so used one of the farther offshore smaller seastacks to give me that refraction edge.

I am glad it turned out so well.