Fort Coeur d’Alene was established in 1878. Barracks were built for the single enlisted men and those who were married lived outside of the camp with their families in what at the time was called Slab Town. Col. Frank Wheaton was the fort commander.
The giant cast iron clock in front of Clark’s Diamond Jewelry is slower now.
But you would be slower, too, if you had survived two world wars, 115 years of North Idaho winters, car crashes and a volcanic eruption.
Clark County History: Vancouver’s historical connection to Panama By Martin Middlewood for The Columbian
Published: April 18, 2021, 6:00am
Share: After seven years work, George Washington Goethals finished the Panama Canal in 1914, completing a task that stymied two other engineers. He commenced his first real engineering work as a lieutenant at the Vancouver Barracks, and performed many routine duties, including planning the headquarters building, designing the new post cemetery, mapping telegraph lines and creating tables marking the distances between Department of the Columbia posts. This photo was taken before his death in 1928. (Contributed by Library of Congress)
Maybe his middle name, Washington, foretold George W. Goethals’ (1858-1928) assignment to the Vancouver Barracks during 1882-1884. As the sole engineer under ill-tempered Brig. Gen. Nelson Miles, district commander, he was expected to be the Columbia District’s engineering mastermind. Th