|The Dalles, Oregon at Coordinates: |
The Surgeon’s Quarters of Fort Dalles
|Built by||Major Tucker|
|Controlled by||United States Army|
Fort Dalles Surgeon's Quarters
|Location||15th and Garrison Sts., The Dalles, Oregon|
|Area||0.8 acres (0.32 ha)|
|Architectural style||Gothic Revival|
|NRHP Reference #||71000682|
|Added to NRHP||September 10, 1971|
Fort Dalles was a United States Army outpost located on the Columbia River at the present site of The Dalles, Oregon, in the United States. Built when Oregon was a territory, the post was used mainly for dealing with wars with Native Americans. The post was first known as Camp and then Fort Drum.
In the fall of 1849 United States Army troops arrived in the new Oregon Territory. This Rifle Regiment established a military base at The Dalles on the Columbia River. Built in 1850, the log fort was constructed under the supervision of Major Tucker. Prior to the arrival of federal troops, the location had been used as a post by the militia of the Oregon Provisional Government under the command of Henry A. G. Lee during the Cayuse War and was named Fort Lee and Fort Wascopam. The post was built at the site of the former Wascopam Mission operated by the Methodist Mission.
New buildings were built from 1856 to 1858 under the direction of the commander Captain Thomas Jordan at a cost of nearly $500,000. In 1858, the log fort was torn down and a new fort was constructed under the command of Colonel George Wright. Wright was in command of the 9th Infantry. The site overlooked an encampment used by Lewis & Clark in October 1805.
During the Yakima Wars Fort Dalles served as operational headquarters for the Army. The garrison had eight companies of troops assigned during this time. After these wars the post was downgraded to a quartermaster’s depot in 1861. A fire burned down the officer’s quarters in 1866. Fort Dalles was then abandoned in 1867.
Fort Dalles Museum
The Fort Dalles Museum is located in the surgeon’s quarters built in 1856 during the Yakima Wars, and the only remaining officer's house from that period. Exhibits include arrowheads, military and pioneer artifacts, period antiques and photographs, tools, weapons, saddles, and information about the fort.
- "Fort Dalles (historical)". Geographic Names Information System, U.S. Geological Survey. Retrieved 2008-11-14.
- "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2010-07-09.
- Main page. Wasco County Historical Society. Retrieved on February 26, 2008.
- Horner, John B. (1921). Oregon: Her History, Her Great Men, Her Literature. The J.K. Gill Co.: Portland. p. 122-123
- Corning, Howard M. Dictionary of Oregon History. Binfords & Mort Publishing, 1956.
- "The City at The Dalles". Settling the Oregon Country. End of the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center. Retrieved 2007-03-05.
- http://www.historicthedalles.org/fort_dalles/fort-dalles_gallery.htm Surgeon's Quarters exhibits
- "Survey of Historic Sites and Buildings, Fort Dalles, Oregon". Soldier and Brave. National Park Service. Retrieved 2008-06-10.