Fort Clatsop Fort Clatsop was the encampment of the Lewis and Clark Expedition in the Oregon Country near the mouth of the Columbia River during the winter of 1805 - 1806 . Located along the Lewis and Clark River at the north end of the Clatsop Plains approximately 5 mi ( 8 km ) southwest of Astoria , the fort was the last encampment of the Corps of Discovery before embarking on their return trip east to St . Louis . The Lewis and Clark Expedition wintered at Fort Clatsop before returning east to St . Louis in the spring of 1806 . It took just over 3 weeks for the Expedition to build the fort , and it served as their camp from December 8 , 1805 until their departure on March 23 , 1806 . The site is now protected as part of the Lewis and Clark National and State Historical Parks , and is also known as Fort Clatsop National Memorial . A replica of the fort was constructed for the sesquicentennial in 1955 and lasted for fifty years ; it was severely damaged by fire in early October 2005 , weeks before Fort Clatsop ' s bicentennial . A new replica , more rustic and rough - hewn , was built by about 700 volunteers in 2006 ; it opened with a dedication ceremony that took place on December 9 . The original Fort Clatsop decayed in the wet climate of the region but was reconstructed in 1955 from sketches in the journals of William Clark . The site is currently operated by the National Park Service . < br > Background . In 1803 , Thomas Jefferson completed the Louisiana Purchase from France . As much of the area had not been explored by whites , Jefferson commissioned an expedition to be led by his secretary , Meriwether Lewis , along with William Clark . Jefferson set a number of goals for the expedition , most notably to determine what the land contained , including plants , animals , and natural resources . Jefferson also wanted to establish good relations with the Native Americans of the area . Additionally , Jefferson was very interested in finding a water route to the Pacific Ocean , which would have cut the travel time from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean considerably . Locating and Building Fort Clatsop . In late November 1805 , after spending a number of days in what is today the state of Washington , Lewis and Clark proposed that the Corps of Discovery move to a location along the Columbia River , based on a recommendation of the local Clatsop Indians . The group decided to vote on the matter , with everyone , including Sacagawea and York ( explorer ) , participating . The group was given three choices : stay in Washington , and be subjected to boring diets of fish and rainy weather , move upriver , or take the advice of the Clatsop Indians and explore the area to the south of the Columbia River . The expedition decided to take the advice of the local Indians and overwhelmingly decided to explore the idea of spending the winter on the southern shore of the Columbia River . Lewis decided to explore the area before moving the entire group . He and five men left to scout the area , leaving Clark and the rest of the group behind . Lewis became frustrated when he could not find the abundant elk that the Clatsop had talked about . In the meantime , Clark had not heard from his companion in a number of days and became increasingly worried . During Lewis ' absence , the group performed a number of housekeeping tasks , including fixing their clothes from the wear they had suffered during the long and arduous journey . Finally , Lewis returned with the news that he had found an adequate location in which to winter . On December 7 , 1805 , the Corps of Discovery began the short journey to the location chosen by Lewis . Upon arrival , the men split into different groups : Clark led a party to the Pacific Ocean in search of salt , while Lewis split the remaining men into two groups . One group was in charge of hunting , while the other was in charge of cutting down trees to be used in the construction of the fort . Construction of the fort was slow , due to the incessant precipitation and unyielding wind that made working conditions less than ideal . On December 23 , people started to move into the dwelling , even though it didn ' t yet have a roof . The next day , Christmas Eve , everyone moved in , and it was christened as Fort Clatsop on Christmas Day , appropriately named after the local Indian tribe . The structures of Fort Clatsop were relatively simple , consisting of two buildings surrounded by large walls . All of the men lived in one structure , while Lewis , Clark , Sacagawea , her husband Toussaint Charbonneau , and their son , Jean Baptiste , stayed in the other . Winter Activites . The winter of 1805 - 1806 was very long and rainy , leading to boredom and restlessness for the Corps of Discovery . They passed the time with various activities , including hunting the abundant deer and elk in the region . The deer and elk meat spoiled quickly , but the skins were used to make clothing and moccasins . Realizing the importance of their trip , Lewis spent most of his time at Fort Clatsop documenting the journey , taking notes on the wildlife , terrain , and other features . Lewis also made maps of the area , which would be especially helpful to future settlers of the Pacific Northwest . Finally , Lewis and Clark occasionally traded with the Clatsop Indians , a tribe they had come to dislike , viewing them as untrustworthy and prone to theft . Ultimately , the group ' s time along the Columbia River merely served as a place to spend the winter and recoup . The men were suffering from a number of different illnesses and conditions , including venereal diseases and respiratory problems , and felt that departing would make them all feel better . Departure . Toward the end of the monotonous winter they spent at Fort Clatsop , the men were desperate to return east . Everyone was sick and quite restless , and the steady diet of elk was becoming unbearable . Moreover , even the elk were becoming more difficult to find . Originally , Meriwether Lewis determined the departure date would be April 1 , but it was later moved up to March 20 . Ultimately , they didn ' t leave until two days after that due to poor weather . In order to travel back up the Columbia and reach the mountains , the group was desperately in need of canoes . The Clatsops had a number of them , but refused to trade with Lewis and Clark . Eventually , an agreement was reached for one canoe , but Lewis decided they had no choice but to steal a second one , since they couldn ' t all travel without at least two boats . On March 22 , the Corps of Discovery began the long journey back to St . Louis . Lewis decided not to send any of the men back with a copy of his notes by sea , as was usually customary , because of the small number of people in the group . Instead , Lewis decided that the group would travel two different routes , in order to see as much of the territory as possible on the way back to St . Louis . Later Use . As a parting gift , Lewis gave Fort Clatsop to Coboway , the chief of the Clatsops . Lewis and Clark had no use for the fort , as they were returning east with no plans to revisit the fort in the near future . Because of the heavy rainfall of the region , the original Fort Clatsop rotted away by the middle of the 19th century . The Clatsops used the fort as a useful base for security and other purposes , though they did strip away part of the wood for other uses . The area soon became a very important site for the fur trade in the Pacific Northwest . The location of the fort near the Pacific Ocean and the Columbia River made it a natural site for the fur trade , which expanded rapidly in the years after Lewis and Clark left . Numerous fur trading companies , including the American Fur Company and the Hudson ' s Bay Company , constructed headquarters in the region . The region quickly became a very important part of the fur trade . Since then , there have been two reconstruction efforts . The first , in 1955 , lasted for 50 years until a fire destroyed the entire structure in the late evening of October 3 , 2005 . Federal , state , and community officials immediately pledged to rebuild it . A 9 - 1 - 1 operator ' s insistence that the fire was no more than fog over the nearby Lewis and Clark River delayed firefighters ’ arrival by about 15 minutes , possibly impacting their ability to save part of the structure . Investigators found no evidence of arson . The fire started in one of the enlisted men ' s quarters , where earlier in the day there had been an open hearth fire burning . It took 18 months to build the 1955 reconstruction , much longer than the 3 . 5 weeks it took to build the original . Shortly after the fire , a second replica was built and finished in 2006 . In spite of the loss , the fire renewed archaeological interest in the site , as excavations had not been possible while the replica was standing . Additionally , the new replica was built utilizing information on the original fort that was not available for the 1955 replica . The 2006 replica also features a fire detection system . The replica of the fort isn ' t in the exact location of the original , as no remains of the original fort have been found . However , it is thought to be quite close to the exact location .