Officers Row - Vancouver, Washington - Washington Historical Markers on Waymarking.com

Text of marker:

Officers Row

When the U.S. Army arrived in 1849 to establish a new post on the western frontier, few of the officers could afford to bring their families out to such a remote and lonely command.  A thriving community of soldiers, officers, wives, and children grew as the region gained importance.  the early log cabin style quarters on Officer Row were eventually replaced with larger and more elegant residences better suited to the status of their occupants.

From the last decades of the 19th century until World War II, Officers Row was the setting for a vibrant social scene.  Idabelle Sparks Kress, reminiscing about her life on the Row as a young woman in the 1870s and 1880s, sad that "the social life here was very fine - social activities were many, and the great garrison, with over one hundred children and young people, was like one big family."

By the early 1900s, visitors to the Row extolled the luxurious ambiance of the tree-line boulevard in front of the "handsome... dwellings, with beautifully kept grounds, all abloom with roses, and with jets of water playing on all the lawns."

Most officers could afford servants, and many of these were Chinese, Irish, or African American.  The man shown here was one of six servants working on the Row in 1880s.  Wives of enlisted soldiers often worked as midwives, cooks, laundresses, and maids as well.

A description of your visit, and more pictures would be great!