Your Guide to Buying a Home in Vancouver, WA

Buying a Home in Vancouver, Washington

(Columbia River wetland at Marine Park)

Vancouver is located in Clark County

Vancouver, Washington sits on the north bank of the Columbia River directly across from Portland, Oregon. The Pacific Coast is less than 90 miles to the west. The Cascade Mountain Range rises on the east. Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument and Mt. Hood are less than two hours away. The spectacular Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area lies 30 minutes to the east. Vancouver combines the excitement of a major metropolitan area with small-town charm and abundant recreational opportunities.

Vancouver's unique, multi-faceted place in American history will be preserved and celebrated for generations to come thanks to an act of Congress in early October, 1996.

Legislation designating the Vancouver National Historic Reserve establishes a partnership for the cooperative management, preservation and enhancement of the historic sites within the 366-acre area: Fort Vancouver National Historic Site, Pearson Field, Vancouver Barracks, Officers Row and portions of the Columbia shoreline and Marine Park.

Significant events in the history and development of the Pacific Northwest have taken place in the concentrated area stretching north from the Columbia River designated the Vancouver National Historic Reserve. "There are few places in America than can match Vancouver's diverse historic assets and significant continuum of history," says John Marshall of the One Place Across Time campaign, which supports the Historic Reserve.

The Columbia River was central to early Native American life and a corridor for Northwest exploration. The Hudson's Bay Company at Fort Vancouver was a center of Northwest commerce and settlement during the early 19th century. Vancouver Barracks and Officers Row later played a key role in America's westward expansion. Pearson Field carried Vancouver into the 20th century as an early military airfield and landing site of the first transpolar flight in 1937.

For over a century, the homes along the northern edge of Evergreen Boulevard, known as Officers Row, is in the Historic Reserve area served as residential housing for many of the soldiers, officers and families stationed at Vancouver Barracks.

Pearson Field is noted as one of the oldest continuously operating airfields in the United States. Documented use of the area dates to the early 1800's when it was farmed to feed residents of adjacent Fort Vancouver.

When the U.S. Army came to Vancouver in the mid-1800's, this area south of the barracks was used for ammunition storage, a blacksmith shop and garden. It was later popular as a polo field. In 1905, Lincoln Beachey piloted the dirigible Gelatine to Vancouver Barracks in the first aerial crossing of the Columbia River. In 1911, the field's first airplane landed there.

Pearson Field was named in 1925 after Lt. Alexander Pearson, "one of the best known and finest pilots in the Air Service." Pearson attended high school in Vancouver, won the first cross-country air race in 1919 and made the first aerial survey of the Grand Canyon. He was killed while preparing for an air race in 1924. 

Built in 1886, the George C. Marshall House is a Queen Anne Victorian that replaced the Grant House as home for the commanding officer of the Department of the Columbia. The Marshall House enjoyed wide popularity in the 1880's and 90's as the center for sophisticated social activities in local military and civic circles. George C. Marshall was commanding officer at Vancouver Barracks from 1936 - 38. While here, Marshall later became U.S. Army Chief of Staff during World War II, Secretary of State and Secretary of Defense. He authored the Marshall Plan, which helped rebuild the economies of Western Europe and the Pacific Nations after World War II. General Marshall was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1953 in recognition of these efforts. Today, the Marshall House is decorated with antiques from the 1880's and houses a Victorian Gift Shop.

Vancouver enjoys mild weather with less average annual rainfall than Boston, Washington, D.C. or Atlanta. Seasons are distinct. Summer temperatures generally climb into the 80s. Winter nights rarely fall below 30 degrees fahrenheit. Our moderate climate results in lush forests and abundant foliage. Springtime explodes with blossoming trees and shrubs.