- Fort Yamhill
Infobox Military Structure
name= Fort Yamhill
partof=
location=Polk County, Oregon
caption=Fort Yamhill blockhouse located inDayton, Oregon .
type= Military base
built= 1856
builder=
materials= wood
height=
used= 1856-1866
demolished= 1866
condition=
ownership=United States
controlledby=United States Army
garrison=
commanders=Philip Sheridan
occupants=
battles=
events=Fort Yamhill was an American military
fortification in what became the state ofOregon . Built in 1856 in theOregon Territory , it remained an active post until 1866. The Army outpost was used to provide a presence next to the Grand Ronde Agency Coastal Reservation. Several officers stationed at theUnited States Army post prior to theAmerican Civil War would later serve as generals in that war.Construction
Built in
Polk County, Oregon , the outpost consisted of a wooden blockhouse, sentry box, barracks, officers’ quarters, carpenter's shop, hospital, cook houses, blacksmith shop, tables, barn, sutler’s store, and laundress quarters. [http://www.prd.state.or.us/masterplans_ftyamhill_history.php Fort Yamhill Master Plan History.] Oregon State Parks and Recreation Department. Retrieved onFebruary 19 2008 .] The wood blockhouse was built to provide a refuge to settlers of the area in case of attack by the Native Americans. After the fort was abandoned the block house was moved from the hill it was positioned on and served as a jail in the Valley Junction area.Total cost to build the fort was $36,053. The post’s first troops were under the command of
William Babcock Hazen .Corning, Howard M. "Dictionary of Oregon History". Binfords & Mort Publishing, 1956.] This garrison consisted of 76 men under three officers, but was reduced in 1858 to two officers and 33 enlisted men.Notable people
Company D of the Fourth California Infantry took over at the fort on November 11, 1861 under the command of Lyman S. Scott.cite book
last = Barth
first = Gunter
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = All Quiet on the Yamhill: The Civil War in Oregon by Royal A. Bensell
publisher = University of Oregon Books: Eugene, OR
date = 1959
volume =
ISBN = 1167 6969
doi = ] They replaced the Ninth Infantry that was commanded by 1st Lieutenant Philip A. Owen. For a time between September 1863 and October 1864 the post was under the command of 2nd Lieutenant James Davison.*General
Philip Sheridan was posted at the fort until the outbreak of theAmerican Civil War and supervised the construction. At the time he was only alieutenant in theU.S. Army .Horner, John B. (1921). Oregon: Her History, Her Great Men, Her Literature. The J.K. Gill Co.: Portland.] Sheridan commanded Fort Yamhill fromJune 26 1857 toJuly 31 1857 , and fromJune 26 1861 toSeptember 1 1861 and was promoted to the rank of captain onMay 14 1861 .
*Also posted at Fort Yamhill was corporal Royal A. Bensell whose journals became the award winning book, "All Quiet on the Yamhill: The Civil War in Oregon by Royal A. Bensell". Edited by Gunter Barth.
*Civil War generalsJoseph Hooker ,Joseph Wheeler , andDavid Allen Russell all served at the fort.The fort today
The blockhouse of the fort was moved to a park in downtown Dayton in 1911 to honor city founder
Joel Palmer .citeweb|title= Fort Yamhill State Heritage Area Master Plan |date= July 2004 |url= http://www.oregon.gov/OPRD/PLANS/docs/masterplans/ft_yamhill.pdf |accessdate=2007-08-29] The actual site of the fort, which is in the Willamina vicinity, has been listed on theNational Register of Historic Places since 1971.citeweb|title=Oregon National Register List|url= http://www.oregon.gov/OPRD/HCD/NATREG/docs/oregon_nr_list.pdf |accessdate=2007-08-29] The address of the site is withheld, however theOregon Parks and Recreation Department runs the undeveloped Fort Yamhill State Heritage Area in partnership with Polk County and the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde and plans to reconstruct some of the fort buildings.Since 2005, Fort Yamhill has served as the site for the
Oregon State University historical archaeology field school. Students work to uncover the foundations of Fort-era buildings. Dr.David Brauner directs the annual field schools.ee also
*
Fort Hoskins
*Fort Dalles External links
* [http://www.oregonstateparks.org/park_254.php Fort Yamhill State Heritage Area]
References
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