Pageants, Prunarians, and Firsts: The Centennial of Fort Vancouver and the Reimagining of its Bicentennial

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "In the Sticks but Not in the Weeds II: Historical Whitewashing and Modern Reimagining of Rural America’s Fantasy Past", at the 2025 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

In 1925, boosters promoted the centennial of Vancouver, Washington, as the “oldest continuous home of white men in the State.” America’s Vancouver numbered slightly over 12,000 people, serving a rural county associated with orcharding, farming, lumbering, and fishing. The event attracted local and State historical societies and booster groups, and included a pageant and the installation of a hexagonal granite monument that touted the start of “civilization.” The centennial promoted a White settler colonial history, and with a few exceptions, ultimately whitewashed the importance of Indigenous and minority populations. Historical archaeology reveals the materiality of a highly diverse population that formed the fur trade colonial site. This work reveals the crucial role of many people in the establishment and development of the fort and its influence on the region. Archaeology strives to build connections between archaeology, place, and descendant communities to promote a more nuanced, inclusive and accessible bicentennial.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• In the Sticks but Not in the Weeds II: Historical Whitewashing and Modern Reimagining of Rural America’s Fantasy Past   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2025

Keywords

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Nicole Haddow