The Building of Fort Clatsop

For Clatsop was home-sweet-winter-home for the members of the Lewis and Clark Expedition during the winter of 1805. Having reached the Pacific Coast, the Corps of Discovery erected Fort Clatsop on the Columbia River’s South shore.

“We are now at the end of our voyage, which has been completely accomplished according to the intention of the expedition, the object of which was to discover a passage by the way of the Missouri and Columbia rivers to the Pacific Ocean; notwithstanding the difficulties, privations and dangers, which we had to encounter, endure and surmount.” – Patrick Gass (Nov. 15, 1805)

With the Pacific Ocean in view, and thousands of miles of trail behind them, the Corps of Discovery set up camp for the winter. The winter was quickly approaching, so it was essential to find a good spot for the Corps make their encampment. But where would they go? The expedition members wanted to find a good spot that was away from the rough seas, but close enough for assets to be within a day’s reach. In present-day Long Beach, Washington, the Corps met with the Chinook Tribe, who wanted more than what Lewis and Clark were able to pay for their stay. The Corps had very few supplies left once they’d reached the Pacific Coast, and with the high prices they had to pay with the Chinooks, they decided to look further for a place to call their winter home. The entirety of the Corps, York and Sacagawea included, made a vote to move to the south bank of the Columbia River where they had heard the elk was bountiful.

Splitting up on December 5th, 1805, Lewis and a handful of members made their way to the river’s south bank. It wouldn’t be long until Lewis and his men found the perfect spot to set up camp! Lewis rushed back to meet with Clark and the rest of the Corps. With Clark’s approval, the Corps of Discovery would start the building of their winter home on December 10th, 1805. Completion of the fort took twenty-two days. The fort was finished by New Years Eve, just in time to celebrate the upcoming new year. The group named their home for the Clatsop Nation, to whom they were living in close proximity, calling the fort Fort Clatsop. Though the fort was only made to last through the Corps of Discovery’s’ stay, you can still visit the renovated model today at Lewis and Clark National Historical Park in Astoria, Oregon.