Hopefully, it is a cohesive narrative and informative reference book which is also enjoyable to read. The research for this history has led me in a number of directions that I suggest a future historian of Fort Vancouver pursue further. I was able to borrow files from the National Archives and Federal Records Center in San Bruno, California with the courteous assistance of Richard Boyden. I am sure that a more systematic research trip would reveal more detail for the development of Fort Vancouver during the 1960s. The Federal Records Center in Seattle also contained a wealth of information.
Oral interviews are, of course, invaluable for an administrative history.
I was extremely lucky that some of the early participants in the creation of Fort Vancouver National Historic Site are still alive and kicking. For instance, Frank Hjort, the first superintendent, and Donald Stewart, the first president of the Fort Vancouver Restoration and Historical Society, were both kind enough to grant me interviews. I also received a lengthy and informative letter from John Hussey, father of all Fort Vancouver historians. With their help, I was able to bring the early years of this administrative history to life. However, time and budget constraints have kept interview and research time to a minimum.