Fort Stevens

Constructed in 1863-64 during the Civil War as an earthwork battery, located on the south shore of the mouth of the Columbia River. It was originally called Fort at Point Adams. It was later named Fort Stevens in 1865, in honor of the former territorial governor of Washington, Isaac I. Stevens who was killed in action during the Civil War. Fort Stevens was the primary military installation in what became the Three Fort Harbor Defense System at the mouth of the Columbia River. The other two forts in the system were Post at Cape Disappointment, later Fort Cape Disappointment and later Fort Canby built at the same time as Fort Stevens and Fort Columbia (built between 1896 and 1904) both on the Washington side of the river. The fort was built to defend the mouth of the Columbia from potential British attack during ongoing regional tensions related to the Pig War of 1859–70 in the San Juan Islands, and remained relevant during the 1896-1903 Alaska Boundary Dispute when British-American tensions were high and once again on the brink of war.
Peter Iredale[edit source.
In 1906, the crew of the sailing ship Peter Iredale sought refuge at the fort after the ship's captain ran her aground on Clatsop Spit. The wreck is still visible today within the present-day boundaries of Fort Stevens State Park.

On the nights of June 21 and 22, 1942, the Japanese submarine I-25 fired 17 shells at Fort Stevens, making it the only military installation in the continental United States to receive hostile fire during World War II (the oil fields in Santa Barbara, California that were also shelled by the Japanese military, was not considered a military installation). The attack caused no damage to the fort itself. The backstop for the post's baseball field was the only casualty. Fort Stevens and its gun batteries protected the river until shortly after World War II, and was decommissioned in 1947. All armament was scrapped and buildings went into auction. The grounds were transferred to the custody of the Corps of Engineers for many years until being turned over to the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department.

Fort Stevens is preserved within Fort Stevens State Park, part of Lewis and Clark National and State Historical Parks. The 3,700 acres (15 km2) park includes camping, beach access, swimming at Coffenbury Lake, trails, and a military history museum.

Fort Clatsop

Fort Clatsop was the encampment of the Lewis and Clark Expedition in the Oregon Country near the mouth of the Columbia River during the winter of 1805-1806. Located along the Lewis and Clark River at the north end of the Clatsop Plains approximately 5 mi (8 km) southwest of Astoria, the fort was the last encampment of the Corps of Discovery before embarking on their return trip east to St. Louis.
The Lewis and Clark Expedition wintered at Fort Clatsop before returning east to St. Louis in the spring of 1806. It took just over 3 weeks for the Expedition to build the fort, and it served as their camp from December 8, 1805 until their departure on March 23, 1806.
The site is now protected as part of the Lewis and Clark National and State Historical Parks, and is also known as Fort Clatsop National Memorial. A replica of the fort was constructed for the sesquicentennial in 1955 and lasted for fifty years; it was severely damaged by fire in early October 2005, weeks before Fort Clatsop's bicentennial. A new replica, more rustic and rough-hewn, was built by about 700 volunteers in 2006; it opened with a dedication ceremony that took place on December 9.
The original Fort Clatsop decayed in the wet climate of the region but was reconstructed in 1955 from sketches in the journals of William Clark. The site is currently operated by the National Park Service.