1850 Officers Row Log House at Fort Vancouver
1101 Officers Row, Vancouver, WA 98661
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$
Restaurant pricing; free to view the exterior and walk Officers Row.
Access
Wheelchair OK
Restored historic log house with ramp access to main level; period interior with some narrow doorways
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1850 · Vancouver National Historic Reserve · Officers Row, Vancouver Barracks · Ulysses S. Grant 1879 Visit
The Grant House was built in 1850 as a log structure and later covered with plank siding. It was originally the home and headquarters of the commanding officer of Camp Vancouver, the U.S. Army post on the north bank of the Columbia River, later renamed Columbia Barracks and then Vancouver Barracks. It is the oldest building on Officers Row.
Despite its name, Ulysses S. Grant did not live in the building. Grant arrived in Vancouver in 1852 as a Brevet Captain with the 4th Infantry and was assigned to the Quartermaster's office, which is where he both lived and worked. The Grant name was bestowed on the house in 1879, when the former Civil War general and U.S. President returned to Vancouver and was honored by the town's citizens.
After its commanding-officer role the building served as an officers club and bachelor officers quarters. It is now part of the Vancouver National Historic Reserve, jointly managed in cooperation with the National Park Service, and houses the Eatery at the Grant House restaurant along with interpretive material on the Vancouver Barracks period.
Sources
Local tradition at the Grant House centers on a figure called Sully, said to be a former officer of the Vancouver Barracks period whose presence is noted in the property's visitor pamphlet at the front door. Restaurant staff retellings — including reports from kitchen staff during periods when the building has operated as a folk-art museum and restaurant — describe a sensed presence and unexplained sounds attributed to Sully.
Portland Ghosts, a regional ghost-tour writing site, treats Sully as an integral part of the Grant House's identity. No named-investigator publication appears to document the figure, and the building's primary public function as a National Park Service-affiliated historic site and restaurant is the dominant frame for most visits.
Notable Entities
Media Appearances
Eat in the restored 1850 log structure that is the oldest building on Officers Row. The walls and historic photographs of the U.S. Army's nineteenth-century Vancouver Barracks period are preserved inside.
Walk the Officers Row corridor at the Vancouver National Historic Reserve, of which the Grant House is the oldest building. Interpretive panels cover the Vancouver Barracks history.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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