Columbia Way in Vancouver in Clark County, Washington — The American West (Northwest)

A Busy Place Is This

Photographed By Kevin W., June 12, 2008

1. A Busy Place Is This Marker

Inscription. You are standing on the site of a once-bustling riverfront complex at Fort Vancouver. A boat building operation, blacksmith shop, and tannery filled the air with the sights, sounds, and smells of industry.

A busy place is this. The blacksmith is repairing ploughshares ... the tinman is making cups for the Indians ... the wheelwright is making wagons, the cooper is making barrels for pickling salmon and packing furs.
Thomas Jefferson Farnham, American visitor, 1839

Vessels large and small moored at a wharf here to collect northwest cargo bound for distant ports. Hawaiian laborers loaded flour, butter, and lumber onto ships. American Indian women cleaned and prepared hundreds of barrels of salted salmon each year for export. Paddlling and singing, French Canadian voyageurs arrived each spring with the winter's fur returns.

Today there is no visible evidence of this once-busy place. Its remains lie buried beneath 150 years of change.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Industry & Commerce • Native Americans • Settlements & Settlers. A significant historical year for this entry is 1839.

Location. 45° 37.222′ N, 122° 40.191′ W. Marker is in Vancouver, Washington, in Clark County. It is in Columbia Way. Marker can be reached

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from SE Columbia Way. Marker is in Old Apple Tree Park. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 112 Columbia Way, Vancouver WA 98661, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. United States Army Arrives (within shouting distance of this marker); Heart of a Trading Empire (within shouting distance of this marker); A River of Settlers (about 500 feet away, measured in a direct line); Captain George Vancouver Monument Plaza (approx. 0.2 miles away); Captain George Vancouver Monument (approx. 0.2 miles away); St. James Mission (approx. 0.4 miles away); The Vancouver Farm (approx. 0.4 miles away); Esther Short (approx. 0.4 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Vancouver.

More about this marker. In the upper right corner of the marker is an, "1846 map, by a Hudson's Bay Company employee," showing "development on the waterfront. The river's edge has changed over time.

Below the map is a picture of a dense, old growth Pacific Northwest forest. The caption reads, "The once vast old-growth forests of the Northwest supplied the timber for Fort Vancouver's sawmill. The lumber was shipped to places as far away as Mexican California, South America, and Hawaii.

The Vancouver National Historic Reserve is a partnership of the National Park service, the City of Vancouver,

Photographed By Kevin W., June 12, 2008

2. A Busy Place Is This Marker

This is a picture of the map in the upper right corner of the marker.

the U. S. Army, and the State of Washington and is dedicated to the preservation, education and public use of these historic properties. This exhibit is funded by the National Park Service's Fee Demonstration Program.

Photographed By Kevin W., June 12, 2008

3. A Busy Place Is This Marker

The marker is along the Washington state side of the shoreline of the Columbia River. The Oregon side of the Columbia can be seen in the background.

Credits. This page was last revised on February 7, 2023. It was originally submitted on October 9, 2008, by Kevin W. of Stafford, Virginia. This page has been viewed 1,451 times since then and 12 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on October 9, 2008, by Kevin W. of Stafford, Virginia.