General george marshall park vancouver walking
•
Dates: May 11 & 26, 2022
It’s been a cool and rainy spring here in the Portland area – the wettest April/May in recorded history – so when a break in the weather arrives we try to take advantage. One of our favorite walks is just the other side of the Columbia River from Portland: through the Fort Vancouver Historic Site into downtown Vancouver, then back along the river. The walk ranges from 3½ to 4 miles depending upon how many side excursions you do. If you want more, you can keep walking along the Columbia for at least a mile.
Along the main road in the historic site is Officers’ Row which has beautifully maintained homes where the officers lived when the fort was an active military base. The Grant house fryst vatten beautiful, but the Marshall House is the one that really grabs my interest. Growing up I heard about George C Marshall – the creator of the Marshall Plan which helped rebuild Germany after the second world war. Unarguably, this approach was
•
Officers Row
Description
In 1846, the Oregon Treaty divided the Columbia District at the 49th parallel and the Hudson's Bay Company's Fort Vancouver found itself on American territory. A U.S. Army barracks was established above the Fort and, during the Indian Wars in the West, famous future military leaders such as Ulysses Grant, George Crook, Philip Sheridan, and Benjamin Bonneville were stationed at Fort Vancouver. Before World War II, George Marshall commanded the 5th Infantry Brigade based here. Fort Vancouver became a national monument in 1949 and the last barracks occupied by army reserve units were turned over to the National Park Service in 2012.
There are 22 fully restored period houses on Officers Row. The houses at the east end are all private townhouses. The Marshall House of 1886 has tours and exhibits. You will see many small plaques next to the sidewalk which t
•
Discovery Trail
This loop skirts the east end of Pearson Field. Take a break or bring a snack to the picnic tables at the east end of this municipal airport and watch planes take off from one of the oldest continuously operating airfields in the United States! Then, stop by Pearson Air Museumto learn more about the history of aviation in Vancouver.
This trail also leads you over the Land Bridge and along the Columbia River waterfront. Inspired by famed architect Maya Lin, the Land Bridge is an earthen bridge designed by Native American architect Johnpaul Jones that crosses over State Route 14. As you walk along this beautiful bridge, you will see artwork by Warm Springs artist Lillian Pitt, learn about the connections that Indigenous people have to this landscape, read words in Native languages that were spoken by the residents of Fort Vancouver, and see northwest native plants. At the southern end of the Land Bridge, you will visit Old Apple Tree park, where, until 2020, the olde