The Old Hudson's Bay Fort at Kettle Falls Burns
A fur-trade blockhouse said to be among the oldest buildings in Washington is destroyed by fire near Kettle Falls.
SPOKANE.—The old Hudson's Bay fort and group of buildings, one half mile from the Kettle Falls, was destroyed by fire. The buildings were commenced in 1824 and finished the following year. The long frame building used for office and living purposes was burned and rebuilt in 1861. The old blockhouse is said to be one of the oldest buildings in this state, having been erected in 1820.
“The old blockhouse is said to be one of the oldest buildings in this state, having been erected in 1820.”
The Hudson's Bay Company post at Kettle Falls anchored the fur trade on the upper Columbia for decades before American settlement. The fort is long gone, and the falls themselves were drowned by Grand Coulee Dam in 1941 — a reminder of how thoroughly the region's oldest landmarks have been erased.
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