Fort Clatsop Administrative History

Louis Caywood, 1948

Map of Caywood excavation, 1948.

The first excavation was completed in 1948 by National Park Service archeologist Louis Caywood. The site still belonged to the Oregon Historical Society, who arranged for assistance from the Park Service in carrying out an excavation. Speculation about the authenticity of the site had grown since OHS' identification of the site in 1900 and the society hoped to verify the site through archeological excavation.

Caywood's excavations were quick and incomplete, in part due to lack of available labor, and in his words were "not as comprehensive as had been hoped." [1] What Caywood uncovered were four fire pits and one rather large pit which he described as a barbecue pit. Materials from these pits included animal bone, charcoal, and two pieces of wood that had been cut or carved by metal tools. Caywood speculated that a member of the Expedition may have whittled on one of those pieces around the campfire one evening, throwing the piece into the fire as he retired to bed. [2] None of the materials from Caywood's excavations underwent any dating process. In reporting his findings, he determined these fire pits to be from the Lewis and Clark Expedition as opposed to campsites of the local Clatsops. He reasoned that the Expedition, with limited resources and supplies, would not have left any scrap materials behind. Caywood also reasoned that "Indians are notoriously untidy" and that the camp had "been thoroughly policed as if by a military group, and all refuse hauled away to a garbage pit." [3] Caywood apparently kept a small box of the excavated materials at Fort Vancouver National Historic Site, which Fort Vancouver Superintendent Frank Hjort sent to western regional archeologist Paul Schumacher in 1961.

Materials collected by Louis Caywood, 1948. (Photos courtesy of Oregon Historical Society, photo negative number 090817)

In preparation for construction of a concrete foundation for the replica in August 1955, the Astoria Junior Chamber of Commerce (Jaycees) tried to determine the location of the original fort site to help them decide where to place the replica. It was the belief at the time that the fire pits located by Caywood did belong to the original site and the Oregon Historical Society asked that the replica be placed right next to the site. [4] Recent interviews with former members of the Jaycees involved in the replica project resulted in information regarding "remains" and their guess to accurately locate the replica. First, it is believed that the replica was built directly over fire pits, possibly ones that Caywood uncovered, and that the fire pits were used in determining the direction and placement of the replica building. Second, archeologists from an Oregon university may have visited the site to help determine where to build the replica. Third, some Jaycees remember finding charcoal remains while digging trenches for the replica's concrete foundation. Finally, one Jaycee remembers charcoal remains being visible to the south of the OHS marker, where the county road was cut into the ridge. [5] No formal documentation of any of these remains exist.