Fort Clatsop Administrative History

Replica Management

Replacement of fort pickets and gates, 1977.
(FOCL photo collection)

Because the fort replica is listed on the National Register and is managed as a historic property, maintenance of the structure falls under the purview of the cultural resources division. When the NPS first received the fort replica, regional and memorial staff conducted research to gain information to remodel the replica for increased accuracy. The result was the Historic Structures Report and Furnishings Plans, Parts I and II. The initial remodeling during the development of the memorial in 1963 resulted in the construction of firepits and a chimney in the captain's quarters; the reconstruction of the main gates; the installation of a second gate; building a sentry box; adding doors; closing the exterior wall gun ports; and opening windows into the parade ground. This work was done under the guidance of the Western Office of Design and Construction historic structures architect Charles S. Pope and Superintendent Peterson. Maintenance foreman Vern Sickler worked extensively building sample chimneys and testing them to determine the proper way to construct fireplaces and chimneys inside the fort. Since the remodeling undertaken by the NPS, the replica has had only general maintenance to replace damaged areas.

Beginning in the mid-1970s, the replica began to show signs of deterioration. Part of the replica's main gate had broken and was temporarily braced by the memorial staff. Superintendent Bob Scott requested an inspection by Pacific Northwest Regional historical architect Laurin Huffman to determine proper repairs and additional maintenance needs. Huffman inspected the replica and completed a report in March 1975. In that report, he cited several problems with rot and deterioration. The main gate needed to be rebuilt due to damaged wood; flashing around the interior chimneys needed to be redone; the exterior chimney needed to be redaubed; the roofing needed to be re-nailed; and cracks along the replica walls creating moisture traps needed to be caulked. Huffman provided ten recommendations for fixing these problems, including directions for rechinking the exterior chimney, rebuilding the main gate, and a treatment process for preserving the wood every two years. In 1977, most of Huffman's recommendations were carried out, and the replica was put on a cultural cyclic maintenance program to prevent further deterioration of the building.

Replacement of fort pickets and gates, 1977.
(FOCL photo collection)

In 1984, the memorial installed new shingles on the fort roof and laid new floor puncheons. Materials for flooring came from Olympic National Park. While the memorial was circulating requests for buying the necessary cedar for shingles, Olympic Superintendent Robert S. Chandler offered for Fort Clatsops use cedar trees that had blown down. The memorial purchased five-foot barn boards for approximately $10,000 for shingles. In 1986, the chimneys in the fort replica were again redaubed. This time, the interior chimneys were remodeled using clay found within the memorial to eliminate the plaster look of the old chimneys. In 1987, the stump in the squad room was replaced with a stump donated from Mt. Rainier National Park.

At the Salt Works site in Seaside, no work has been completed on the replica itself. Various landscaping efforts around the site have taken place. In 1985, a landscape design plan for the site was developed by Renata Niedzwiekca, a historical landscape architect from the regional office. Between 1985 and 1987, memorial management sought to improve the site and implement the landscape plan. The sidewalk was replaced and a new exhibit/bulletin board sign installed. A split-rail fence similar to fencing utilized at the memorial was installed. A native vegetation maintenance program was started for softening edges around the sidewalks and borders. The plan suggested other design projects, to be completed if the opportunity arose, including the development of a trail from the replica to the beach and the proper research and restoration of the replica if repairs became necessary.

In 1991, a new landscape plan was designed by a historical landscape architect from the Pacific Northwest Region, Marsha Tolon. Utilizing some of the same ideas from the 1985 plan, including the future project possibilities, the plan developed new design elements. The split-rail fence was removed and a new cobblestone wall was installed during 1994. This reflects a shift away from design elements used at the memorial to elements that are cohesive with the Salt Works site, which is composed of many different materials and structures in an enclosed city block. The new landscape plan also recommends moving the site bulletin board to a staging area on the Seaside Promenade, which near passes the site, and the installation of new exhibit signs at the staging area next to the replica. The use of natural history signs on a path extension similar to the natural history signs at the memorial is also recommended. The recommendations include the continued maintenance of native vegetation started by the 1985 plan. [15]