Fort Hoskins was one of three "forts" (which were actually unfortified posts) built by the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

to monitor the

Coastal Indian Reservation The Coast Indian Reservation is a former Indian reservation in the U.S. state of Oregon, established in 1855. It was gradually reduced in size and in the 21st century is known as the present-day Siletz Reservation. History The Coast Reservation wa ...

Oregon Territory The Territory of Oregon was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from August 14, 1848, until February 14, 1859, when the southwestern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Oregon. O ...

(later the U.S. State of

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...

) in the mid- 19th century. The Fort Hoskins Site is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

. Fort Hoskins was garrisoned by a number of companies of soldiers throughout its short existence, and future Union Civil War generals Christopher Columbus Augur and

Phil Sheridan General of the Army Philip Henry Sheridan (March 6, 1831 – August 5, 1888) was a career United States Army officer and a Union general in the American Civil War. His career was noted for his rapid rise to major general and his close a ...

were stationed there.

History

Construction on the post began in 1856 on the

Luckiamute River The Luckiamute River is a tributary of the Willamette River, about long, in western Oregon in the United States. It drains an area of Central Oregon Coast Range and the western Willamette Valley northwest of Corvallis. It rises in the remote mo ...

under the supervision of then Captain Christopher C. Augur.Corning, Howard M. ''Dictionary of Oregon History''. Binfords & Mort Publishing, 1956. Fort Hoskins was finished in 1857, with then-lieutenant

Philip Sheridan General of the Army Philip Henry Sheridan (March 6, 1831 – August 5, 1888) was a career United States Army officer and a Union general in the American Civil War. His career was noted for his rapid rise to major general and his close as ...

in charge, and was named after Lt. Charles Hoskins, who had died in the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War, also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the (''United States intervention in Mexico''), was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848. It followed the 1 ...

. The fort was located about 19 miles northwest of Corvallis. The community of

Hoskins Hoskins is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Allen Hoskins (1920–1980), American child actor who played Farina in the Our Gang series * Andrew Hoskins (born 1975), Canadian rower * Anthony Hoskins (1828–1901), Royal Navy a ...

took its name from the fort. Captain Augur was assigned to Fort Hoskins as its first post commander from 25 July 1856 to 2 July 1861. He and his growing family became the first occupants of their newly constructed residence on Fort Hoskin's "Officer's Row." 2nd Lt. Phil Sheridan oversaw the construction of Fort Hoskins during this period. Two soldiers who were stationed at the fort during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

kept journals of their experiences:

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and William M. Hilleary. Their accounts are of unmitigated boredom and dampness, but they provide a good picture of 19th-century life in the area. Fort Hoskins played an indirectly important role in local and state history because of the leadership of several out-of-state soldiers who decided to stay in the area after they were mustered out of the army. Several placenames in the area, such as Kings Valley, are connected with these soldiers. The fort never saw any action, though a bloodless insurrection by Native Americans at

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was put down by the soldiers. After the Civil War ended, it was discovered that Fort Hoskins had been an outpost of interest to the former Confederate government. Fort Hoskins was abandoned in 1865.

Archeological site

The site of the fort was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. In 2002, Benton County opened the site as Fort Hoskins Historical Park. In 2012, the fort commander's house was moved back to its original site at Fort Hoskins from nearby

Pedee The Pee Dee people, also Pedee and Peedee, are American Indians of the Southeast United States. Historically, their population has been concentrated in the Piedmont of present-day South Carolina. In the 17th and 18th centuries, English colonists ...

, where it had been moved after the fort was closed. In 2015, Benton County approved funds for an exterior restoration of the house.Bennett Hall
"Commander’s House at Fort Hoskins set for major renovation"
''Corvallis Gazette-Times'', originally published January 22, 2015; updated Jan 25, 2015

References

External links

Fort Hoskins Historical Park

a self-published history {{coord, 44.674, -123.460, type:landmark_region:US-OR, display=t 1857 establishments in Oregon Territory 1865 disestablishments in Oregon

Closed installations of the United States Army County parks in Oregon

Landmarks in Oregon National Register of Historic Places in Benton County, Oregon Oregon in the American Civil War Parks in Benton County, Oregon

History

Archeological site

See also

References

Further reading

External links