History
For thousands of years, the Vancouver area was home to native people who flourished on the bounty of forest and river. In 1825, Dr. John McLoughlin decided to move the northwest headquarters of the Hudson's Bay Company from Astoria, Oregon to a more favorable setting upriver. He named the site after Point Vancouver on Broughton's original map. Fort Vancouver was thus born. For many years, Fort Vancouver was the center of all fur trading in the Pacific Northwest from its vital location on the Columbia River. Finally, on Jan. 23, 1857, the City of Vancouver was incorporated. Through the rest of the century, Vancouver steadily developed. In 1908, the first rail line east through the Washington side of the Columbia River Gorge reached Vancouver. In 1910, a railroad bridge was opened south across the Columbia. In 1917, the first span of the Interstate Bridge was completed. Now Vancouver is the fourth largest city in the state and home to over 160,000 people.
Specialties
Local Government