Fort Vancouver Cultural Landscape Report

IMPLEMENTATION (continued)

PHASE I

Overview

The objective of Phase I is to expand the interpretation of the cultural landscape at Fort Vancouver. Implementation of Phase I will clarify the boundaries of the historic landscape, both visually and physically. During this phase, additional research is initiated to identify and direct the appropriate treatments for Phase II and Phase III of the plan.

By the end of Phase I, the framework of the circulation system is in place, major research projects have been identified and initiated, a vegetation management plan has been developed to guide reestablishment and management of vegetation throughout the site, and interpretation has been expanded.

Phase I Tasks

Interpretation

1) In cooperation with park and regional staff, establish wayside exhibits for key landscape features along the proposed roads and paths. Wayside exhibits should be created for key landscape features (the stockade, Kanaka Village, the river front area); overall HBC agricultural operations (the garden, the orchard, fields, and pastures), historic circulation routes; structures; and small-scale features. Wayside exhibits should address the importance and characteristics of the individual features themselves, and how these features contribute to our understanding of the historic themes interpreted at Fort Vancouver. See Appendix F for a list of suggested wayside exhibits and locations.

2) The location of wayside exhibits interpreting landscape features should be placed with consideration to archeological resources. If a feature cannot be located archaeologically, the wayside should be sited in proximity to the location of the feature as depicted on the historic base map.

3) Support planning efforts by the U.S. Army to prepare a cultural landscape report for Vancouver Barracks. This report could provide a basis for management and interpretation of the Vancouver Barracks cultural landscape.

Circulation

1) Maintain the current vehicular routes from the NPS Visitor Center to East Fifth Street.

2) Maintain the existing parking lots, and existing pedestrian routes at the river front area.

3) Remove the remnant asphalt loop road that is located in the Kanaka Village site.

4) Reestablish key historic circulation routes based on historic documentation. Circulation routes include the overall historic road system, and any other roads or paths that are necessary for connecting different areas of the site such as the stockade, Kanaka Village, the river front, the garden, the orchard, fields, pastures, and the visitor center.

For visual continuity, materials for all roads, paths, and parking lots should be compacted soil/crushed aggregate, or asphalt with a compacted surface material. The surface materials should match the existing soil in color and texture. Wood post bollards should be installed to control vehicular access across historic roads that are used solely for pedestrian circulation.

5) Work with the army to reestablish the historic road (river road) from East Fifth Street to the southwest edge of the park. In lieu of this access across Army property, construct a road from East Fifth Street along the north edge of NPS property that connects to the reconstructed historic river road.

6) Construct a permanent parking lot at the south end of the river road, on the west side of the road. The parking lot should accommodate approximately forty-five cars, five recreational vehicles (RVs), and five to six buses. Construct an accessible path from the parking lot across the river road to historic Upper Mill Road. Provide a small-scale shuttle system for handicap access. Screen the parking lot with appropriate historic vegetation (plant material from a conifer forest transition zone).

7) Provide two to three parking spaces in a small gravel lot adjacent to the stockade for maintenance and safety vehicles. If a shuttle system is not feasible for handicap access, provide two to three (additional) handicap spaces in this lot.

8) Allow parking across the road from the permanent parking lot, for special events when extra parking is required.

9) Construct an accessible path around the perimeter of the stockade providing access to all historic features.

10) Reconstruct the historic plank road between the southwest gate and the interior areas of the stockade.

11) Provide pedestrian access through all three of the stockade's historic gates.

12) Construct an accessible path to the river's edge and a compacted soil/crushed aggregate interpretive trail along the river to the east end of the park. Coordinate planning this trail with any water front trails proposed by the City of Vancouver, WA.

13) Collaborate with the Washington Department of Transportation (WDOT) on plans to construct the pedestrian overpass (planned for during the Interstate 5/Highway 14 construction project during the 1980s). The overpass should provide access from Historic Apple Tree Park to the intersection of the historic river road and historic Upper Mill Road.

Structures

1) Maintain and preserve the existing historic reconstructions in the stockade as a part of a cyclic maintenance program.

2) Maintain and preserve the existing army bandstand (reconstructed) on the parade ground as a part of a cyclic maintenance program.

3) Maintain the use of the visitor center/administration building.

4) Remove the maintenance storage area that is located in the Kanaka Village Site.

5) Conduct archeological investigations, in consultation with the Regional Archeologist, to locate historic structures in the garden (summerhouse), orchard (unidentified structure), fields (barn complex, root houses, and the two HBC schoolhouses), and adjacent to the stockade (the Cooper's Shop and other potential structures outside the S. E. corner of the stockade).

6) Initiate archeological investigations to relocate the foundations of previously excavated historic structures inside the stockade. Remove the existing asphalt pads and delineate relocated building foundations by reconstructing the "post-on-the-sill" foundations. Work with historical architects and archeologist to determine the cost analysis for building foundation outlines for identification purposes versus foundations that act as structural bases for future reconstructions. See Alternate Construction Systems and Alternatives to Total Reconstructions of Structures at Fort Vancouver National Historic Site. A. Lewis Koue, 1981.

7) Construct a fee station on historic Lower Mill Road just inside the proposed historic entry gate.

8) Provide storage for tools and equipment necessary to maintain the agricultural operations of the park in reconstructed structures.

9) Any contemporary structures constructed in the NPS administrative area (Zone IIIa) should match the design character of the existing non-historic structures.

10) Contemporary structures, except for wayside exhibits, should not be constructed on the parade ground (Zone III).

11) Prepare a visual compatibility guidelie for development at the river front area. Assess the existing park facilities, to determine what, or if, features should be compatible with the historic character. The designs and materials of interpretive displays, and contemporary small-scale features, and structures, should be consistent with the remainder of the river front area.

12) Construct facilities in the river front area to establish a visitor contact point for interpretation.

13) Delineating non-extant historic buildings, and/or reconstructing historic structures and small-scale features at the river front is not recommended due to a lack of historic documentation and severe impacts to this area. If site impacts are eliminated and accurate documentation of the historic physical development of this area becomes available, the park could consider expanding the development of the river front area.

Vegetation

1) In collaboration with a historical landscape architect and horiticulturists, retain selected fruit trees in the existing orchard to help spatially define the limits of the historic garden. Some non-historic fruit trees should be retained to serve as interpretive plant material until further research on the orchard and garden is completed. Trees that are diseased, in poor condition, or fall within reconstructed historic garden paths should be removed.

2) Maintain the lawn, and existing Douglas-fir and Oregon oak trees on the parade ground. No new ornamental trees or shrubs should be planted on the parade ground.

3) Maintain the open field/meadow appearance of the field south of the stockade by retaining grasses, and removing any volunteer and/or non-native trees and shrubs.

4) Maintain the existing ornamental species and lawn around the NPS administrative area. The interpretive trail will act as a transition and border between the contemporary NPS area and the core historic area.

5) Maintain any existing riparian vegetation along the Columbia River.

6) Retain the existing open views to the Columbia river from the historic river front industrial area.

7) Support the passive recreational use of the river front area by maintaining the lawns and ornamental plantings around the parking lot.

8) In consultation with the Corps of Engineer's (in case of rip-rap features), remove debris and intrusive structures such as concrete and building ruins, from the Columbia River shoreline in preparation for restoration of the riparian environment.

9) Initiate research to complete an authentic and appropriate plant list for the historic garden, orchard, cultivated fields, livestock pasture, and native vegetation (conifer forest, riparian edges, prairie grasses, etc.). A list of nursery sources for the historic plant material should also be developed. See Appendix A for a preliminary list of native species and Appendix G for recommended primary and secondary plant material sources and the preliminary criteria for reconstructing historic agricultural features.

10) Initiate research to develop a detailed layout of the historic garden and orchard, based on specific documentation about Fort Vancouver if possible. If no primary sources are identified, use secondary sources (see Appendix G.).

11) Initiate research on the agricultural methods used at Fort Vancouver in the garden, orchard, fields and pastures, in order to incorporate these historic methods whenever possible or economically feasible. This should include planting and harvesting techniques, plant varieties and spacing, soil preparation, pest management, etc. For example, for the cultivated fields, management recommendations on crop rotation, manuring, and allowing fields to lie fallow, etc., should be investigated.

12) Relocate the existing interpretive garden to its historic location. Plant only a portion of the historic garden (one bed), until research identifying the appropriate historic species is completed, and the availability of those historic varieties is determined.

13) Plant a few historic apple trees in each corner of the historic orchard site (until all research is completed), to define the orchard boundaries. Plant standard rootstock and after obtaining permission from the City of Vancouver, use grafts from the Historic Apple Tree as one of the historic varieties for the orchard.

14) In collaboration with regional and park resource staff, develop a comprehensive Vegetation Management Plan to reconstruct the historic scene including the garden, orchard, fields, pastures, and native vegetation (prairies, riparian edge, and conifer forests). This plan should be based historic research developed in the Cultural Landscape Report and proposed research. It should be implemented in two parts, part one should be a partial reconstruction of the historic vegetation to serve as interpretive features. Part two should be a total reconstruction of historic vegetative features in order to function as a living history park and heirloom plant study center. Full reconstruction of the cultural landscape will entail the addition of new and/or supplementary infrastructure and administrative support from other interested organizations (agricultural leasing programs, horticultural research programs, garden clubs, and historical societies). Agreements between the NPS and other organizations should be detailed in the Vegetation Management Plan and include long-term commitments from all involved parties.

The plan should include sections on:

Descriptions of current vegetative conditions and the historic vegetative scene; goals and objectives of the plan; a process to implement historic vegetative reconstructions for the garden, orchard, fields, pasture, riparian edge, conifer forest, prairie grasses; maintenance techniques (historic or modern as appropriate) to maintain the historic scene; and guidelines for managing and distributing harvested produce and crops.

Small-scale Features

1) Maintain the existing post and rail boundary fences. For example, the fences around the Vancouver Barracks parade ground, the NPS administrative zone (residences and maintenance area).

2) Relocate existing picnic tables in the park to an area southeast of the visitor center.

3) Maintain benches, and picnic tables in the river front park area.

4) Reconstruct key small-scale historic features that help physically define more discrete areas within the landscape and add texture to the interpretive environment, including fences, the entry gate on Lower Mill Road, the flagstaff, belfry, wells, and cold/hot frames. Reconstructions should be based on accurate documentation. Initiate research for small-scale features with incomplete documentation (garden cold/hot frames and garden well). Two historic fence styles should be used as required throughout the site: post and rail, and zigzag (see Landscape Plan). Post and rail fences should be used around the garden, on the north and south sides of the orchard, and in fields adjacent to the stockade. Zigzag fences should be used along the west side of the orchard and around outlying fields.

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