Lake Roosevelt Administrative History

Living History at Fort Spokane

Living history became popular in the United States in the mid-1960s. Within the Park Service, 114 areas offered some form of living history in 1974, often including historic firearms demonstrations. LARO was one of these. Its living history program began in 1973 with the arrival of a woman homesteader's costume sewn at Harpers Ferry Center. In 1974, the program consisted of four employees, including a Fire Control Aide, acting out incidents from 1880-1900 newspaper accounts and vignettes of civilian life. For the 1976 Bicentennial, the program included drills, inspections, target practice, and stable chores. In 1977, two resident mules were added to the program. [90]

LARO's weekly living history program grew in popularity in the late 1970s, with an average of 180 visitors sitting on or near the guardhouse porch to watch each presentation. It was the only living history program in eastern Washington at that time. A ranger welcomed the audience and gave a general history of the fort, and then uniformed troops assembled in front of the guardhouse. The troops were inspected, with "inserts" provided about activities at the fort, followed by a close order drill and the firing of blank rounds from a 45-70 Springfield rifle. The reenactors then stood at display stations and responded to visitor questions. Some years during the 1980s, one volunteer would remain in costume following the weekly program and would continue to do first-person interpretation the rest of the day. [91]

Living history program at Fort Spokane, no date. Photo courtesy of National Park Service, Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area (LARO.FS).

Both visitor attendance and volunteer participation in the living history program began to decline in 1989. Most of the volunteers dressed as soldiers belonged to the Frontier Regulars based in Spokane. By 1994, LARO no longer had troops to parade, so rangers began wearing the soldier costumes again and giving weekly guided tours of the fort. The living history program, with attendance ranging from 30 to 120 visitors, remains LARO's most popular program, making it difficult to drop even though living history as an interpretive tool has fallen out of favor in some circles. The actors now use a script for their program, similar to a skit, and address various historic themes. The emphasis of the living history program is still on the military period. [92]