Fort Astoria

Fort Astoria, 1813 (University of Washington Archives)

Fort Astoria Replica Blockhouse, John Stanton, 2007

Fort Astoria (1811-1824) (1830-1848) - Established in March 1811 as headquarters for the Astor Fur Expedition when the company arrived on board Captain Jonathan Thorn's ship,Tonqui. By the time an overland party joined them in February, 1812, they had constructed a trading store, a blacksmith's shop, a dwelling house, and a storage shed for pelts acquired from trapping or trading with the local native Americans. Cannons were arranged around the perimeter for defense. The outpost was to serve as an administrative center for various satellite forts such as Fort Okanogan.

War of 1812 resulted in Astoria becoming Fort George under British rule. On 12 Dec 1813, Captain Black, commanding the British corvette Racoon arrived at the fort. After dinner, a British flag was run up the staff, across which, Captain Black broke a bottle of Madeira wine, loudly declaring that he was taking possession of the post in the name of His Royal Majesty. He then changed the name of Fort Astoria to Fort George.

The fort was renamed Fort Astoria after the British left in 1818. The fort was abandoned in 1825 when the Hudson's Bay Company moved it's fur trading operations to Fort Vancouver.

Current Status

A replica of the fort blockhouse is operated as a small city park inside the city of Astoria.

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Location: Northwest Corner of 15th and Exchange Streets, Astoria, Clatsop County, Oregon Maps & Images Lat: 46.188224 Long: -123.827441 Multi Maps from ACME Maps from Bing Maps from Google Elevation: 25'

Links:

• Wikipedia

Source:

• Oregon Military History, Forts-Camps-Roads

Visited: 28 Jan 2007

Picture Gallery

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  Fort Astoria Sign