In the midst of the bustling crowd at Fort Vancouver’s Visitor Center, Carol Schafer pored over a display of pipe bowls once owned by soldiers stationed at the Vancouver Barracks.
“They’re like campaign buttons,” Schafer said, pointing to a pair of “president pipes” carved to resemble Presidents Zachary Taylor and Millard Fillmore during their campaigns in the early 19th century.
As Schafer spoke of what she called an “interesting tidbit” of Vancouver’s history, so too did dozens of others exploring the newly renovated Visitor Center, reopened Saturday after more than a year of construction.
The modern, airy space is the new centerpiece of the Fort Vancouver National Historic Site, Superintendent Tracy Fortmann said. The space will feature rotating exhibits from the fort’s substantial museum collection, which contains more than two million historical artifacts that tell the story of Vancouver and those who settled here.
“Think of it as a tapestry,” Fortmann continued. “All the threads come together.”
And there are many threads to this place. Small, clay animal masks sculpted by Northwest artist Lillian Pitt, whose family represents the Yakama, Warm Springs and Wasco Native American tribes, adorned the walls.
Artifacts are displayed from Oregon Trail settlers and fur traders, as well as from soldiers stationed in the barracks during World War II.
“The lure of this place is, it connects with so many different people,” Fortmann said. “All these stories, they intermingled.”
Portland resident Katie Flynn, whose interest in history drew her across the river, had never been to Fort Vancouver before Saturday — but it likely won’t be her last visit, she said.
Flynn was most intrigued by the relationship between people settling in the area with the Native American tribes, she said.
“I didn’t think I really considered that a lot of cultures meet here in an area,” Flynn said. “You don’t think of it happening.”
The Visitor Center was built in 1961, and the update comes just in time for the National Park Service’s 100th birthday next year. The $1.7 million project was supported by entrance fees throughout the Park Service system.
The Visitor Center, at 1501 E. Evergreen Blvd., will be open for winter hours from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays until March 31. It is closed Sundays and Mondays.
“To see it come to fruition is really wonderful,” Fortmann said. “We’ve given it new life.”
