Fort Simcoe, Washington Territory
the northern U.S. boundary. Colville was also thought to be more central and suppliable. Fort Simcoe was abandoned permanently after receipt of Orders No. 35 and 36 from Fort Vancouver dated April 13 and 14, 1859. Companies C and I of the 9th Infantry joined the Northwestern Boundary Commission as escorts. Company G relocated to Ft. Dalles.
In 1859 the fort was turned over to the Bureau of Indian Affairs. It became the Indian agency headquarters, providing services to the reservation Indians. Reading and writing were taught, as well as trades such as carpentry, blacksmithing, and farming. The parade ground was plowed up and used as a garden. An orchard was planted in 1861. Several buildings were razed and replaced with frame structures. The business of the Yakama Reservation was managed from there until the bureau was moved to Toppenish in 1923.
R.H. Lonsdale was the first Indian agent appointed in 1860. C.M. Walker relieved him of his duties a year later. A. A. Bancroft was appointed by Lincoln in 1861. He was greatly disliked by the Indians because he stole from the annuities they had been guaranteed by the government. Father Wilbur, superintendent of the Simcoe school since 1860, tried to intervene, but he was dismissed by C. N. Hale, the new commissioner of Indian affairs. Bancroft was eventually fired and Wilbur was appointed in his place in 1864. He and his wife worked with the Indians for two decades. The Indians called him Father Wilbur. Many improvements were made during that time.
In 1938 efforts got underway to preserve the site. The Civilian Conservation Corps started work on it but was interrupted by World War II. Washington State Parks took it over and repair work continued after 1953. It was designated a state park then, compromising 140 acres.
Only five original buildings remain today: the commanding officer's house, three captain's quarters, and a squared pine log blockhouse on the southwest approach to the fort. The barracks and blockhouses have been reconstructed.
(SOURCE: Bugles in the Valley, H. Dean Guie, Portland: Oregon Historical Society, 1977)
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