A new program of after-dark tours will give visitors an opportunity to see Fort Vancouver in a whole new light.
Actually, a whole old light: The place will be illuminated by lanterns when Fort Vancouver National Historic Site offers two series of history-themed evening tours.
“After hours, the sounds of the city are hushed and the only light in the park is by flickering lanterns,” park guide Justine Hanrahan said in a news release, “There is something serene about exploring the park by candlelight with a park ranger. Lantern tours are a special way for our community to connect with our past.”
Two different programs will be offered: An Evening at the Fort and Walking Vancouver Barracks. Each tour will be limited to 90 participants, divided into four groups. Last year, they were divided into three ranger-led groups.
If You Go
• What: 2016-17 Fort Vancouver Lantern Tours.
• When:(All on Saturdays) Oct. 8 and Oct. 22; Nov. 19; Dec. 3 and Dec. 17; Jan. 7 and Jan. 21; Feb. 4 and Feb. 18. All tours start at 7 p.m. Meet at the fort’s entrance gate by 6:45 p.m.
• Where: Fort Vancouver, 1001 E. Fifth St., Vancouver.
• Cost: $15 adults, $10 children 15 and younger. (National Park passes do not cover lantern tours.) Reservations, advance payment required: 360-816-6244.
• An Evening at the Fort: Inside the reconstructed stockade, visitors will see historical vignettes as a park ranger guides them through different buildings. These vignettes will show what life was like at Fort Vancouver in the 1840s.
This year’s historical vignettes will have a new theme. Costumed re-enactors will discuss the theatrical plays presented in February 1846, as documented in the 1843-1847 log of the British sloop HMS Modeste, which often visited the Hudson’s Bay Company trading center.
According to accounts, Capt. Thomas Baillie “and the officers and crew of the Modeste attempted to stay on cordial terms with the Americans, putting on several plays, a ball, curling matches and horse races.”
Both residents of Fort Vancouver and American settlers on the Oregon side of the Columbia River were invited to the fort to observe the first theatrical group of its kind in the region.
• Walking Vancouver Barracks: Each adult will carry a lantern as a park ranger guides the group on an outdoor walking tour of the historic Army post. Visitors will learn about Ulysses S. Grant, Oliver Otis Howard, George C. Marshall, William S. Harney and other significant figures in Vancouver Barracks history. These tours are entirely outdoors, and they cover about a half mile over some uneven and unpaved ground.
There also will be lantern tours on Nov. 5 at the McLoughlin House in Oregon City, Ore., at 6 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
Reservations for October tours are open now. All tour dates can be reserved and pre-paid, starting on Oct. 1. All reservations must be pre-paid over the phone or in person at the contact station at the reconstructed Fort Vancouver. Reservations are nonrefundable and nontransferable.
Tours take place at least partially outdoors, and will occur rain or shine; participants should dress appropriately for weather conditions. Due to length, tours are not recommended for children younger than 10. To make a reservation, call 360-816-6244.
