Fort Canby
Location (military name): Fort Canby
Harbor: Columbia River
Location: Cape Disappointment
Years active military: 1852-1947
Named for : Brevet Major General Edward R.S. Canby, killed by Modoc Indians, Lava Beds, CA, Apr. 3, 1873, G.O. 5, June 28, 1875
Current Status:
Current name of site: Cape Disappointment State Park
USCG Station Cape Disappointment
Multiple Owners: yes
Public Owners/Agency: State of Washington, Dept. of Rec. & Parks
U.S. Coast Guard Cape Disappointment
Private Owners: no
Public accessibility: Yes
Museum/Interpretive Center: yes
Other Facilities: state park, camping, boating, beach access,
two lighthouses
Contact address/Information:
Structures:
Pre-1890s structures: 3 Rodman batteries built 1863 (no trace remains)
Garrison structures: yes (none remain)
Fire Control: several
Mine Project: no structures at Canby
Virtual Tour Pages
Historic Fort Canby Photos
Rodman Batteries (1864-1890)
Emplacements/Batteries:
Battery Harvey Allen (3-6″ guns DC)
Battery Elijah O’Flyng (2-6″ guns DC)
Battery Francis L. Guenther (4-12″ mortars)
BCN 247 (2-6″ guns BC)
AMTB #2 (2 -90 mm guns fixed, 2-90 mm guns mobile)
Reference Documents
Fort Canby RCWs
Fort Canby Quartermaster Building Records
Battery Construction at Fort Canby
See the main HD Columbia River page for more reference material
A Short History of Fort Canby Washington by John A. Hussey (NPS) 1957
Radar: SCR 296 for Btty 246, SCR 296 for Btty 247, SCR 681, SCR 548 AMTB Btty #2
Internet Links:
Washington State Parks site
Long Beach Area State Parks site
Lewis and Calrk Interpretive Center (WSPR)
Notes/History/Post-coast artillery military use/Comments: Part of reservation transferred to the Coast Guard and the rest to the State in 1950s. State Park developed in the 1960s. All garrison structures have been destroyed. State built the Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center on the parapet of Battery Allen in the 1980s.