Someone seems to have gone to a lot of trouble to gather the materials for this barbecue. The material in question is
rocks, rocks that were, in 1825, part of the foundations of buildings of one of the first settlements of any kind in the area, a Hudson's Bay Trading Post. It was built, according to the plaque, in 1825 beside the Columbia River just south of the little town of Marcus, WA. Various historians, however, believe the date to be anywhere from 1816 to 1830. Named
Fort Colville, it remained in operation until a declining fur trade caused its closure and abandonment in 1871. The site of the fort is part of a
National Historic District.
This large stone barbecue was erected by the Soroptimists in 1950. It is unknown, however, what other installations in the park are the work of the Soroptimists. It appears that the Soroptimists are no longer active in Colville.
This park is the largest in the city, offering large, well treed open areas, a bandstand, baseball field, tennis courts, swimming pool, children's playground, picnic pavilions and more.