In December 1805 Meriwether Lewis, William Clark and the Corps of Discovery established their winter quarters on a stream near the Columbia River. They built a wooden stockade around several cabins on the banks of what is now known as the Lewis and Clark River. They stayed less than four months before returning east to the United States. Later, settlers homesteaded in the area, obliterating signs of the fort. In 1901 the land was acquired by the Oregon Historical Society. A replica fort was built at the site in 1955; it burned in 2005. The site was designated a national monument in 1956. In 2004 it became part of the Lewis & Clark National Historical Park.
The collection includes letters, telegrams and other correspondence and materials relating to the establishment of the Fort Clatsop National Monument. Also included are archaeological field notes, an oil, gas and mineral lease from 1955 and its termination agreement the same year, and an oral history interview with a descendant of one of the settlers who homesteaded on the site. Many of the letters concern arranging for a celebratory dinner after the national monument was established.
The collection is arranged in one series.
The collection is open to the public.
The Oregon Historical Society is the owner of the materials in the Research Library and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. Written permission must be obtained from the Research Library before any publication use. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all of the materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use may require seeking additional authorization from the copyright owners.
Fort Clatsop National Monument papers, Mss212, Oregon Historical Society Research Library.
The Fort Clatsop National Monument Papers is an artificial collection compiled by the Oregon Historical Society Research Library staff.
Acquired from a variety of sources.
One photograph negative was transferred to photograph storage.
The collection is indexed under the following headings in the online catalog. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or places should search the catalog using these headings:
Postcard: drawing of Fort Clatsop
Brochure: Historic Fort Clatsop near Astoria, Oregon
Brochure: Fort Clatsop National Memorial, Oregon
Panorama of Pacific Spruce Corporation mill
The Fort Clatsop site, 5 p.
Publications and other items sold by the Fort Clatsop Historical Association, 5 p.