Fort Henrietta Historic Park is a public

urban park An urban park or metropolitan park, also known as a city park, municipal park (North America), public park, public open space, or municipal gardens (United Kingdom, UK), is a park or botanical garden in cities, densely populated suburbia and oth ...

, located in the city of

Echo, Oregon Echo is a city in Umatilla County, Oregon, Umatilla County, Oregon, United States. The population was 699 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. It is part of the Pendleton, Oregon, Pendleton–Hermiston, Oregon, Hermiston Pendleton-He ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. The park is located on the east bank of the

Umatilla River The Umatilla River is an tributary of the Columbia River in northern Umatilla County, Oregon, Umatilla County, Oregon, United States. drainage basin, Draining a basin of , it enters the Columbia near the city of Umatilla, Oregon, Umatilla in the ...

and overlooks the original site of Utilla Indian Agency, the first agency for the Umatilla, Cayuse and Walla Walla Indian tribes in 1855 the Oregon Mounted Volunteers built Fort Henrietta on the agency site. The fort and agency were on the west river bank. The park is named for the fort which was named for Henrietta Haller, wife of Major Granville O. Haller, an American military officer during the

Cayuse War The Cayuse War (1847–1855) was an armed conflict between the Cayuse people of the Northwestern United States and settlers, backed by the U.S. government. The conflict was triggered by the Whitman massacre of 1847, where the Cayuse attacked a ...

. 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 North America that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon Territory. The eastern part of the Oregon Trail crossed 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 the Oregon Trail originally and later for the stage and freight roads. The Upper Crossing is located in the City of

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

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 ''Wall ...

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 and

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...

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

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

after which the Oregon militia built a frontier outpost 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 to 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 Echo, Oregon Cayuse War Native American history of Oregon Municipal parks in Oregon