Fort Umpqua was a small but important post in the Hudson’s Bay Company’s fur-trade empire in the Oregon Country. The farthest south of the company’s posts, the fort was located on the Umpqua River in present-day Douglas County. Operating between 1836 and the early 1850s, it was crucial to the supply of the HBC’s regular Southern party, which annually trapped for beaver southward from the Umpqua River and into central California. During the 1840s, Fort Umpqua served as a waystop for travelers on what became the main trail between California and Oregon. It was the first non-Native year-round settlement in southern Oregon.
Local citizens in the area have designed and built a replica of the original Fort Umpqua just to the West of the town of Elkton. If you visit in the summer local school children and adult volunteers provide tours and educational activities centered around life as a pioneer in the 1800s. Be sure to stop by if you are in the area.
This cache is a NANO cache located at the historical marker. Please DO NOT harm or remove any part of the sign in acquiring this cache.