Official website of the
City of Vancouver, Washington

Yesterday and Today

In 1792, British explorer Lt. William Broughton named a point on the north shore of the Columbia River in honor of his commander. Fourteen years later Meriwether Lewis, co-leader of the Corps of Discovery, declared the site as "the only desired situation for settlement west of the Rocky Mountains."

But it wasn't until Dr. John McLoughlin established the Northwest headquarters of the Hudson's Bay Company at Fort Vancouver in 1825 that the region became a hub for both commerce and culture.

The Chinook and scores of other native tribes fished, hunted and traded in the territory thousands of years before white settlers arrived. Their numbers dwindled by the mid-19th century when fur trappers and farmers, missionaries and merchants settled on the land.

These early pioneers came from countries throughout the world and Clark County came alive with immigrants speaking Chinese, French, Russian, Hawaiian and other languages. They established farms, built businesses, founded churches and developed schools. They platted towns that serve as the core of Clark County today.

The buildings they constructed remain as evidence of their lives. Use the maps on this website to visit these historic sites and enjoy your tour through time.