Fort Henrietta Historic Park is a public

urban park An urban park or metropolitan park, also known as a municipal park (North America) or a public park, public open space, or municipal gardens ( UK), is a park in cities and other incorporated places that offer recreation and green space to resi ...

, located in the city of

Echo, Oregon Echo is a city in Umatilla County, Oregon, United States. The population was 699 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Pendleton– Hermiston Micropolitan Statistical Area. History The original Oregon Trail passed just south of Echo. Whe ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. The park is located on the North bank of the

Umatilla River The Umatilla River is an tributary of the Columbia River in northern Umatilla County, Oregon, United States. Draining a basin of , it enters the Columbia near the city of Umatilla in the northeastern part of the state. In downstream order, begi ...

and was the home to a Native American Agency and later an Oregon Militia Fort. The park is named from Henrietta Haller, wife of Major Granville O. Haller, an American military officer during the

Cayuse War The Cayuse War was an armed conflict that took place in the Northwestern United States from 1847 to 1855 between the Cayuse people of the region and the United States Government and local American settlers. Caused in part by the influx of disease ...

. The park is listed as a National Historic Trail Site because of its location along the

Oregon Trail The Oregon Trail was a east–west, large-wheeled wagon route and Westward Expansion Trails, emigrant trail in the United States that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon. The eastern part of the Oregon Trail spanned part of what ...

where emigrants frequently camped on their pass through northern Oregon. The south end of the park was known as the Lower Crossing of the Umatilla River for stage and freight roads. The Upper Crossing is located in the City of

Pendleton, Oregon Pendleton is a city and the county seat of Umatilla County, Oregon. The population was 17,107 at the time of the 2020 census, which includes approximately 1,600 people who are incarcerated at Eastern Oregon Correctional Institution. Pendleton ...

History

Archeological excavations from the Fort Henrietta-Utilla Indian Agency Site found at least seasonal occupation by Native Americans going back over 3500 years, probably as a transportation hub due to the Umatilla River from prehistoric times. In 1851 an Indian agency for the Umatilla, Cayuse and

Walla Walla people Walla Walla (), Walawalałáma ("People of Walula region along Walla Walla River"), sometimes Walúulapam, are a Sahaptin indigenous people of the Northwest Plateau. The duplication in their name expresses the diminutive form. The name ''Walla Wa ...

was set up with a post office across the Umatilla River. The post office served as one of the stations for the postal route between

The Dalles The Dalles is the largest city of Wasco County, Oregon, United States. The population was 16,010 at the 2020 census, and it is the largest city on the Oregon side of the Columbia River between the Portland Metropolitan Area, and Hermiston ...

and

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

. In 1855 the Agency was burned down by the Cayuse during the

Yakima War The Yakima War (1855–1858), also referred to as the Yakima Native American War of 1855 or the Plateau War, was a conflict between the United States and the Yakama, a Sahaptian-speaking people of the Northwest Plateau, then part of Washington T ...

after which the Oregon militia built a

frontier outpost ''Frontier Outpost'' is a 1950 American Western film directed by Ray Nazarro and starring Charles Starrett, Lois Hall and Steve Darrell.Blottner p.148 It is part of the Durango Kid series. Plot Cast * Charles Starrett as Steve Lawton / Durang ...

called Fort Henrietta. In November that same year the Oregon Mounted Volunteers built the 100 square foot fort on the site of the destroyed Umatilla Indian Agency.

Amenities

Displays in the Fort Henrietta Park interpret the former U.S. Army fort, which was staffed from 1855–1856, the interactions between European Americans and Native Americans in roughly the same period, and both logging equipment and a replica of a frontier-era

blockhouse A blockhouse is a small fortification, usually consisting of one or more rooms with loopholes, allowing its defenders to fire in various directions. It is usually an isolated fort in the form of a single building, serving as a defensive stro ...

that housed the first Umatilla County Jail. Within the collection, there is a covered wagon museum, antique fire equipment, and a public access point to the river. The Fort overlooks the

. The park includes a small recreational vehicle (RV) park and campground, a playground, and a skate park.

References

{{reflist

External links

Oregon Military History, Forts-Camps-Roads, 1805-1976
Map produced by the Oregon Military Department in 1976 shows locations of historic forts, camps and military roads in Oregon (part of Oregon State Library holdings).

Henrietta Henrietta may refer to: * Henrietta (given name), a feminine given name, derived from the male name Henry Places * Henrietta Island in the Arctic Ocean * Henrietta, Mauritius * Henrietta, Tasmania, a locality in Australia United States * Henrie ...

Echo, Oregon Cayuse War Native American history of Oregon Municipal parks in Oregon