East Barracks/Parade Ground: Cultural Landscape Inventory, Fort Vancouver National Historic Site

MIG, Inc.; Regions 8, 9, 10, & 12 Park Cultural Landscapes Program

The East Barracks/Parade Ground landscape (formerly the Vancouver Barracks/Parade Ground) is an approximately 13‑acre designed historic landscape central to the Vancouver Barracks developed by the U.S. Army between 1861 and 1947. This landscape includes the Parade Ground and a small portion of East Barracks where foundation plantings mark the historic site of an U.S. Army building that no longer remains (east of building 993). The Parade Ground is a large, roughly rectangular, open lawn running east‑west across the northern portion of the Reserve. The flat terrace is punctuated with mature trees and a bandstand, and edged by roads and walkways, historic U.S. Army buildings, trees, and fences. Historically, the Parade Ground was developed for army drills, ceremonies, and recreation. Today, it is used as a public park for community events, picnicking, and recreation. The edges of the Parade Ground are clearly defined by roads, buildings, fences, and vegetation. An S‑shaped road constructed by the NPS as part of its Mission 66‑era development defines the Parade Ground’s eastern edge. The remaining three edges are defined by the U.S. Army East Barracks and Officers’ Row developments that are representative of a typical army posts with buildings clustered according to function. Buildings contained within the East Barracks and Officers’ Row reflect standard‑plan military architecture of a variety of periods, including the 1880s, 1910s, 1930s, and 1940s. The period of significance for East Barracks/Parade Ground extends from 1849 through 1946, from the establishment of Camp Vancouver north of the HBC fort to the decommissioning of Vancouver Barracks. The Parade Ground was further developed over time with fences and paths and became the location for U.S. Army drills, ceremonies, and recreation. The East Barracks/Parade Ground played significant roles during the Pacific Northwest Indian Wars, the Spanish American War, World War I, and World War II. By the end of the period of significance, 1946, the post began reporting to Fort Lewis and the Vancouver Barracks ceased to play an important role in national military affairs. The East Barracks/Parade Ground is nationally significant for its association with the exploration/settlement, industry, military, politics/government, and transportation; for its association with General O.O. Howard; and for archeological sites that have revealed significant historic information and have potential to yield further information regarding military activities. The Parade Ground retains integrity as a large, formal, military‑designed open space developed during the period of significance and is in good condition. This CLI has been drafted and edited by multiple people over the past two decades. Initial efforts were completed by Janene Caywood, of HRA, Inc. with guidance from NPS historical landscape architects Cathy Gilbert and Susan Dolan in 2004. Content from the Cultural Landscape Report for Fort Vancouver (Taylor and Erigero 1992) was used to develop the site history. More recently a draft was updated by Bradley Pavlik, NPS historical landscape architect, in 2010. A revised draft was prepared in 2018 by NPS historical landscape architects Cortney Cain Gjesfjeld and Shannon Sawyer and NPS cultural resources program associate Sang Bae focused on updates to the vegetation analysis. Finally, the existing conditions documentation and analysis were updated in 2023-2024 by historical landscape architect Laurie Matthews, architectural historian Eleanor Cox, and project associate Emma-Quin Smith of MIG, Inc.

East Barracks/Parade Ground: Cultural Landscape Inventory, Fort Vancouver National Historic Site

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