Fort Vancouver was established in 1825 as a fur trading outpost that served as the headquarters of the Hudson's Bay Company. The fort was located on the northern bank of the Columbia River in present-day Vancouver, Washington. In 1849 the US Army set up Columbia Barracks (later renamed Vancouver Barracks) on a rise above the trading post, fronting on the river with buildings on a line from the water.
      The post remained in active service, thru the Indian Wars and the Civil War, being expanded for the World war. In 1917-18, a spruce mill and its related structures were constructed. The Vancouver District's military headquarters were also located there. Hundreds of tents were erected on the site of the mill. A variety of support buildings, offices, mess halls, and latrines, were erected around the mill to service them and the "spruce soldiers".

      In October 1917, under the headline: 'German Spies Operating in Washington Camp', an Iowa City newspaper reported "German spies are operating in the army post here [Vancouver Barracks] according to evidence gathered today. Efforts were made to poison the water which supplies the barracks and it is persistently reported that poison bread has been found. The post commander this afternoon flatly denied reports that a German had been shot as he tried to gain entrance to the bakery."

      Operations at the spruce mill began on February 7, 1918. The plant processed wood from the region's forests, and turned out between four and six hundred thousand feet every twenty-four hours. The milled lumber was then shipped to aircraft production plants out of state. The Spruce Division also extended a series of railroad spurs across the site to service the mill and kilns. During the Great War, the Army's Spruce Mill Division covered most of the old stockade site and much of Pearson airfield. The mill was the world’s largest and supplied lumber for thousands of warplanes. A privately owned shipyard, Standifer Shipyard, constructed some of the vessels needed for "The War to End All Wars," but closed in 1921.
      Because of the its significance in United States history Fort Vancouver was declared a U.S. National Monument on June 19, 1948 and a U.S. National Historic Site on June 30, 1961.