Fort Vancuever National Historic Site, Washington

Tuesday, June 5th-We enjoyed visiting the fort with Aunt Debbie.  Sitting above the Columbia River, we learned that this fort was established by England's Hudson Bay Company in 1824.  The main function of the fort was a trading post for fur, especially beavors for the fashionable  hats. A hat at this time could cost an equivalent of our $3000.  Chinook Jargon was the trade language established.  It was interesting to learn that most of the artifacts were discovered from their garbage, the privys.  All waste was dumped down the toilets.  With the demise of the beavor hats and the 1849 gold rush, the Hudson Bay Company left the fort in the 1860s(not happily) and the US army took over.

Setting the beavor trap