Fort Bellingham

Fort Bellingham Blockhouse (University of Washington Archive)

Fort Bellingham Plan, National Archives

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Fort Bellingham (1856-1860) - Built by U.S. Army Captain George E. Pickett and Company D of the 9th U.S. Infantry Regiment out of Fort Steilacoon. Construction started 26 Aug 1856 on a bluff overlooking Bellingham Bay. The fort was built to prevent attacks by Indians from Canada and the Russian territory on the bayside villages of Fairhaven, Sehome and Whatcom.

Description

In his report of December 1858 Inspector General Joseph Mansfield wrote, “The Barracks, storehouses & officers quarters, are within an enclosed square, of about 80 yards the side. The fort is made of pallisades set in the ground, loopholed for musketry and flanked by two Blockhouses two stories high, pierced for mountain howitzers and loopholed: and is provided with 3 gates ... All the buildings are one story. The buildings were wood framed. Barracks had a mess hall, & kitchen, & bakery attached, and was ample."

The fort was abandoned on 28 Apr 1860.

Current Status

Only traces of the fort remain today but the Officer's Quarters that housed Capt. George E. Pickett and his Indian wife are preserved at 910 Bancroft St. on the site of the fort. Actually, 910 Bancroft St. is the site of Pickett's private house in Whatcom. Fort Bellingham was located about 3 1/2 miles west of the Bancroft site on a parcel now occupied by the greenhouses of Smith's Gardens off Marine Drive. The fort was largely dismantled and moved to San Juan Island during the "Pig War".

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Location: Bellingham Bay and Watcom Creek, Bellingham, Washington 910 Bancroft St., Bellingham Washington Maps & Images Lat: 48.755977 Long: -122.485456 Multi Maps from ACME Maps from Bing Maps from Google Elevation: 60'

Sources:

• Hart, Herbert M., Tour Guide to Old Western Forts, Pruett Publishing Co., Boulder CO, 1980, ISBN 0-87108-568-2, page 180.
• Frazer, Robert W., Forts of the West, University of Oklahoma Press, Norman OK, 1965, ISBN 0-8061-1250-6, page 167.

Links:

• History Link
• Center for Pacific Northwest Studies
• Wikipedia - Fort Bellingham

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