Fort Clatsop - History

History

Fort Clatsop was named after the local Clatsop tribe of Native Americans. Construction of the fort began on December 9 and the captains moved into their quarters (still unroofed) two days before Christmas 1805. The original stockade was a small cramped wooden structure, more of a barracks than a defensible structure. By their own accounts, the Corps members were largely miserable during the damp cold winter on the Pacific Coast. Whereas the previous winter on the Great Plains (in present-day central North Dakota) they spent a great amount of time with the local Mandan tribe, at Fort Clatsop their interaction with the local Clatsop was not social and was limited mostly to small-scale trading. The fort was opened to trading only 24 days during the entire winter.

The expedition's journals do not give a precise layout of the fort, and the two floorplans drawn by Sergeant John Ordway and Captain William Clark differ. Clark's floorplan is the accepted version due to his rank and role in the construction work.

The area they had settled in was on the lands of the Clatsop tribe, one of the Lower Chinookan peoples. Prior to the expedition's arrival, the Clatsop had frequently traded with other European traders and explorers visiting the area by ship. Because of their prior experience with traders, the Clatsop were shrewd at valuing the expedition's "Indian trinkets". Despite this, the tribe interacted frequently with the expedition, trading goods, services, and information.

The camp site was selected by Captain Lewis and construction took place over the month of December, with the expedition moving in by Christmas Day 1805. They remained at the fort for three months, until March 23, 1806, when they departed on their return trip home.

The original Fort Clatsop decayed in the wet climate of the region but was reconstructed in 1955 from sketches in the journals of William Clark. The site is currently operated by the National Park Service.