One of the goals of the Fort Vancouver Centennial Corporation, the sponsor of the commemorative half dollar, was to rebuild/reconstruct the Fort Vancouver Stockade. The Corporation had hoped to complete the project in time for the Fort Vancouver Centennial celebrations set for the summer of 1925. As I've mentioned in previous posts, however, the effort failed and it was decades before the Stockade was rebuilt - long after the Corporation was out of the picture.
Things might have been a little different had a particular bill been succcessful in 1925 during the 68th Congress. In December 1924, Albert Johnson (R-WA) introduced a bill in the House of Representatives that was to "provide for the restoration of the Old Fort Vancouver Stockade." (The original burned down in 1866 after being abandoned by Hudson's Bay Company in 1860.) The bill proposed an appropriation of up to $60,000 for the restoration project; it was referred to the House Committee on Military Affairs.
Old Fort Vancouver (at right) and Adjacent Village
(Image Credit: Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division. Public Domain.)The Committee recommended that the bill pass, but with a pair of amendments that dramatically changed the bill: 1) the role of the Secretary of War was changed from being in charge of the restoration effort to more of a consulting role via cooperation with other groups; and 2) the appropriation was removed (i.e., no Government funding was to be provided). In its Report, the Committee reasoned that "the desired restoration is not in the furtherance of any military or other Government need, hence is not compatible with the present policy of retrenchment in Government expenditure." A victim of the budget!
The Committee also noted that: "Restoration of Fort Vancouver stockade is desired by various societies and private citizens who are cooperating with the
Fort Vancouver Centennial Corporation in perfecting preparations for a celebration to be held at Vancouver, Wash., from July 4 to August 4, 1925." IMO, though the Committee was clearly aware of Vancouver's local initiatives regarding the Old Fort and Centennial observances, such were not the reason it recommended dropping the appropriation that would have supported the Fort's reconstruction. I believe the Committee's "not in furtherance of any military...need" reasoning was the driver.
The Old Fort site sat undeveloped for decades. In 1948, the Fort Vancouver National Monument was created by Act of Congress; the National Park Service (NPS) was named to administer the site. It took about six years due to inter-department issues, but on June 30, 1954 it all became official. Between 1947 and 1952, Louis Caywood - NPS archaeologist - worked at the site to determine the precise location of the original Fort's Stockcde; he was ultimately successful in identifying it. Beginning in the 1960s, work began on reconstructing the Fort/Stockade, and its interior buildings, at their original site - work has continued ever since.
Today, the site features a reconstruction of the original Stockade plus multiple buildings within it and gardens outside of it, a recreation of the nearby Village - where many who worked at the post lived - a Visitors Center/Museum and several other historically-related buildings. For a couple of present-day views, see:
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Fort Vancouver - Coins Depicting a Place ThreadWhile net proceeds from sales of the Fort Vancouver Half Dollar were intended to support Fort Vancouver's commemoration and reconstruction, the coin's poor sales prevented fruitful work on the Old Fort. Fortunately, the US Government eventually recognized the site's significance and stepped in to ensure it survived. Let's at least give the Centennial Corporation credit for getting the ball rolling!
1925 Fort Vancouver Half Dollar
For other of my posts about commemorative coins and medals, including more Fort Vancouver half dollar stories, see:
Commems Collection.
Posted 09/28/2023 12:14 pm
