Fort Clatsop

Fort Clatsop (1805-1806) - A Lewis and Clark Expedition fort established in 1805 as the winter quarters for the expedition in present-day Clatsop County, Oregon. Lewis & Clark and the 33-member Corps of Discovery built the log fort as winter quarters in 1805-06 with seven cabins surrounded by a 50 ft square log stockade. Abandoned in the early spring of 1806 to local Indians when the Corps of Discovery began their journey back east.

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  Fort Clatsop Interior (2006 version)
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  Fort Clatsop still burning 4 Oct 2005
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  Fort Clatsop (2006 version)

History

Fort Clatsop Plan from Clark's Journal

The Corps built the original fort between 7 Dec 1805 and 30 Dec 1805 according to a plan that Clark had drawn on the back of his elk skin-covered journal. They named the fort after a neighboring tribe of friendly Indians.

The site of Fort Canby, on the other side of the Columbia, is said to be the location where, on 15 Nov 1805, members of the Corps of Discovery first stepped into the breaking surf of the Pacific Ocean.

The party left Fort Clatsop on 23 Mar 1806 and began the journey back east, abandoning the fort to the local Indian tribes.

Current Status

Must See! The fort was reconstructed in 1955 on a site that was thought to be close to the original site. It became Fort Clatsop National Memorial Park in 1958. In 1963 a visitor center was added and the park became a part of the Lewis & Clark National Historical Park in 2004.

On 3 Oct 2005, the 1955 replica of the fort was destroyed by fire. The replica was rebuilt in 2006 and was reopened to the public on 9 Dec 2006.

Context

Location: Located three-fourths of a mile south of the Oregon Coast Highway,
just west of the Lewis and Clark River in Clatsop County, Oregon.
Lat: 46.134° Long: -123.879° Elevation: 10' Bing, Google, OldMapsOnline, USGS, OHM

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See Also:

• Meriwether Lewis
• William Clark
• Lewis and Clark Expedition
• Lewis & Clark Camps

Sources:

• Hart, Herbert M., Tour Guide to Old Western Forts, Pruett Publishing Co., Boulder CO, 1980, ISBN 0-87108-568-2, page 132-133
• McArthur, Lewis A. & McArthur, Lewis L., Oregon Geographic Names, Oregon Historical Society Press; 7 edition (December 2003), 1073 pages, ISBN 0875952771, ISBN 978-0875952772, page 365
• Roberts, Robert B., Encyclopedia of Historic Forts: The Military, Pioneer, and Trading Posts of the United States, Macmillan, New York, 1988, 10th printing, ISBN 0-02-926880-X, page 663-664
• Oregon Military History, Forts-Camps-Roads
• The Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. 2005. U of Nebraska Press / U of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries-Electronic Text Center.

Links:

• North American Forts - Fort Clatsop
• Fort Clatsop National Memorial Park
• Imagining Fort Clatsop includes a day-by-day account of construction on the original fort.

Picture Gallery

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  Fort Clatsop Visitor Center
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  Fort Clatsop (2006 version)
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  Fort Clatsop replica canoe
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  Fort Clatsop canoe landing
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  Fort Clatsop foundation after 2005 fire
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  Fort Clatsop (1955 Version)
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  Fort Clatsop Gate (1955 Version)
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  Fort Clatsop Inside (1955 Version)

Related:
Camp River Dubois, Fort Canby, Lewis and Clark Expedition, New or Updated Forts and Camps, Oregon Geographic Names, Oregon Military History, Forts-Camps-Roads, Rock Fort Camp, Tour Guide to Old Western Forts, William Clark, Meriwether Lewis,