Fort Umpqua

Fort Umpqua, on the west bank upstream, was established in 1836 by the Hudson’s Bay Company as a twelve foot high and ninety foot square stockade with bastions at diagonal corners. It served as the dwelling of superintendent Jean Baptiste Gagnier and his family, the first residents of Douglas County, and included a range of stores and quarters for six employees. Outside stood a barn and stable, a few apple trees, and eighty fenced acres under cultivation. The southernmost fur trading post was twice besieged by Indians. With the coming of the gold rush and the donation land laws, settlers began entering the Umpqua Valley, the profitable Indian trade ended, and the post was abandoned in 1852.

Oregon · United States