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
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: Indigenous Peoples and Communities • Industry & Commerce • 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.
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Regionally, this marker is in Greater Portland Area and in Southwest Washington State. It is also on the American Pacific Coast, in the Pacific Northwest, and in the Lewis & Clark Corridor. Globally, it is in North America, the Pacific Rim, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere.
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,
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.
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 1,616 times since then and 18 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on October 9, 2008, by Kevin W. of Stafford, Virginia.
