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サマリー
あらすじ・解説
Located in Pierce County, western Washington, in the City of Lakewood are the remnants of a once critical military instillation known as Fort Steilacoom. It occupies the same piece of land where today's Western State Hospital exists - another historic topic for a future podcast episode, to be sure. But Fort Steilacoom, by its own right, has firmly entrenched itself in the history of Washington State. Built in 1849 to project American power and secure American interest in the Puget Sound Region, Fort Steilacoom played a key role in helping to settle what was then Oregon Territory. It served as the focal point for the Treaty Wars of the 1850s and played witness to the judicial murder of an innocent man - Chief Leschi of the Nisqually Tribe - about which you can learn more in my Medicine Creek Treaty podcast episode. Fort Steilacoom also rose to the forefront of history during the San Juan Island Pig War of 1859, again which you can learn about from that episode of the Washington Our Home podcast. The story you're about to hear can be found in its entirety at www.HistoricFortSteilacoom.org, compiled largely by John McPherson and Duane Colt Denfeld, Ph.D. with supplemental research and writing by Jim Lauderdale and Walter Neary, among others. Over the years, historians have researched the history of Fort Steilacoom to provide an accurate account of life at the military post during its period of significance. This research led to the creation of a nonprofit to oversee the historic property, known as the Historic Fort Steilacoom Association. It's board of directors developed an interpretive plan for the site, created a voluminous research library, and have continuously worked to recreate a more accurate depiction of the first U.S. Army Post in the Puget Sound Region…and its effect upon area residents who had already been living here for generations.