United States Army Arrives
On May 13, 1849, the United States steamer Massachusetts arrived off the Hudson's Bay Company wharf and unloaded Batteries L and M of the First Regiment of United States Artillery. The first permanent official American presence in the Pacific Northwest had arrived!
The Army quickly rented buildings from the Hudson's Bay Company and constructed quarters on top of the hillside to the north. As the Army's role grew, the available facilities proved inadequate for its needs.
Over the objections of the Company, the Army constructed a new wharf in 1857 and a large warehouse in 1859 here on the riverfront. Between the mid-1850s and 1866, the Army tore down and burned the old Company buildings.
Marker is on SE Columbia Way.
Courtesy hmdb.org
