The missions and forts of the Oregon Trail preserve the memory of the regions’ settlement, which are now National Park Service sites. Much of the Oregon Trail is now located in the Pacific Northwest region.
Typically, when adventurers think of the Pacific Northwest, what comes to mind is towering trees and volcanic alpine peaks. In exploring the Pacific Northwests’ Oregon Trail historical sites, we are reminded that nature holds within it human stories. The following National Historic Sites do a great job of preserving the multifaceted past.
Fort Vancouver National Historic Site in Washington
Fort Vancouver, just on the other side of the mighty Columbia River from Portland, is a one-stop shop for the history of industry in the Pacific Northwest. Just think beavers. Here we learned that beaver fur trading operations at Fort Vancouver in the mid-1800’s continue to affect the environment today. Ecosystems are both resilient and fragile.
Fort Vancouver as a whole is a delight. It is a fantastic place to take kids that love to play make-believe, where history comes to life. Experience an active blacksmith shop, a doctor’s clinic, a fur counting house, and so much more. The girls’ favorite part was the Oldentime school room. We left Fort Vancouver with gratitude towards all that is preserved here, and the breathtaking flower gardens with an incredible view of Mount Hood in the distance.
Nez Perce National Historic Park in Idaho
Located in the Clearwater Valley, the Nez Perce Historical Park preserves the timeless history of the Nez Perce peoples. It was another step back in time, but also into the modern, as the Nez Perce people continue to fish, hunt and gather here. The Visitor Center was great, welcoming and informative. This is where the girls learned that Nez Perce, meaning pierced nose, is a very inaccurate French-given name.
First Nation history wouldn’t be complete without trickster coyote. However, in the Nez Perce legend, Coyote is not a trickster but a savior. The Nez Perce Historical Park Junior Ranger booklet has a page dedicated to the Nez Perce creation story with Coyote at its center. Brave Coyote took many steps to defeat a monster devouring all animal people in the Clearwater Valley. Then, after Coyote defeated the monster, he declared that the Nez Perce “will be a special kind of people. They will have strong hearts and strong minds, and they will live well here.” To complete the storytelling, we learned the Nez Perce term for Coyote, Iceyéye.
Whatever aspect of history you are in search for at Nez Perce Historical Park, you will find it, from the Nez Perces’ 4,500 year old rock art to battle sites and forts.
Whitman Mission National Historic Site in Washington
The Whitman Mission National Historic Site in Washington was an intense stop. We were not expecting to learn about the history of a tragic attack.
At this place, the Whitmans died at the hands of the Cayuse. This arguably affected the entire future of First Nation Peoples; it provided justification for the current reservation system. Shrouded in myth and controversy, the historical record is not set in stone. Current understanding provides the massacred physician and family, at the time were successful in treating measles in the white population, but not the Cayuse. Tragically, Cayuse had been known to kill unsuccessful medicine men, which the physical would be viewed as such. This teaches us most history is not clear cut.
But don’t let the massacre story define the entire Whitman Mission National Historic Site; it is extremely family, with lots of learning about the Oregon Trail, the pioneers who once made their lives here, and the Cayuse people who had no choice but to succumb to the march of time and the endless flood of those pioneers.
The Whitman Mission Junior Ranger booklet has an activity called A Seasonal Round, honoring that the Cayuse people lived with the cycles of nature. The kids quarter a circle into the four seasons and write about what the Cayuse would do, and what we would di in our modern times. Our family’s favorite Junior Ranger books are the ones that honor the First Nation peoples.
Play the Oregon Trail; then Do the Oregon Trail
In this van family, our motto is to live in actually reality, not virtual reality. Before we set off on this trip I had no idea the rich Oregon Trail history the Pacific Northwest holds. The girls were amused to hear their parents are what is termed the “Oregon Trail” generation, we were in that small gap where we grew up playing the blocky-charactered Oregon Trail on bulky computers. Trust me, it is way more fun to actually go on the Oregon Trail.
Read more scenic Junior Ranger trips on our Pacific Northwest adventures here.
