Washington

Telling the story of the Euroamerican influence in Washington State is the focus of historic archaeology. Historic sites include fur trade camps, military forts, pioneer homesteads, small towns, logging and mining camps, railroad camps, bridges, trestles, fords, and religious centers such as missions. These categories are not mutually exclusive. Small villages or towns grew up around military or fur trade forts.
The initial Euroamerican occupations in the state were fur trade establishments. Known as “forts”, these were not military but commercial establishments. Initially, some did not even have protective fortifications. The fur trade has been the main focus of historic archaeologists in the state. This is reflected in the list of Pacific Fur Company and Hudson’s Bay Company forts that have been excavated. These include Fort Spokane near Spokane, two different Fort Okanogans where the Okanogan River meets the Columbia, Fort Nez Perce at the junction of the Snake and Columbia Rivers, Fort Colville near Kettle Falls on the Columbia River, Fort Vancouver and Kanaka Village in present-day Vancouver, two Fort Nisquallys and Nisqually Village near the present-day town of DuPont, and Bellevue Farm on San Juan Island. The fur trade in the Pacific Northwest was controlled by corporate giants, especially the Hudson’s Bay Company.