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COMMITTEE APPOINTED AT NOOX late. '003 by George B. McClellan, LUNCHEON OF THE COMMBR- later, famous as commander-ln-chief CIAL CLUB TODAY TO AH-'of the Uulou^rniy at the outbreak HiXGE DETAILS OF PRESEKVING OLD LANDMARK ON CITY PROPERTY—TO RAISE POPULAR SUBSCRIPTION.AT the noon luncheon of the Cora-.mercial Club at the Hotel Wilson today William Christensen, \V. B. Keir and Fred Thomas were.appointed as, a, committee to arrange the details of the moving of the.historic blockhouse weat of this city, known as old Ft. Borst. This committee will report at next, week’s luncheon.According to present plans the old fort will be moved to the new municipal park on the banks oh theof the Civil War.The general opinion expressed at the luncheon today was that the fortDEstat in :chashould be moved to the city’s latest pr(Eacquired property. .Talks in favor of this move were made by William Christensen, Theo. Hose, B. lt;H. Rhodes and J. R. Buxton. It was pointed out the immense advertising value the blockhouse will have to the city and Hie great number of .tour-,lsts who will inspect it when it Is lo-!ocated on a more accessible spot.The general opinion w.ib expressed today that the fort should not be taken apapt, but should be moved in its entirety. It is believed that onlythe ground Umbers are deeayed, and these can easily be placed when thethechaIcon wh is J v!gCltSkookumchuck and .it is probable; structure la finally placed'in its new named Ft. iocatfon.Fk-rsl ll!5 i There is little doubt but that Ccn-have the fraiiUnB in general realize the valuethat the park will be i Jjftl'st park. Mrs. Mary''expressed wllUngnesR to old structure moved ami nil thill remains to be done is tin*, mi Bing of necessary finances. The conimll’no appointed today will sec to this, al-of the old fort to the city and are behind the club in the present proposition of moving it.Mr. KeU' stated at the luncheonthough it is likely that the money f0lt;fay the old fort was built bywill be raised by popular subscription, the school children and club women of the city assisting.soldiers, Mr. Borst hauling the tint-bers by oxen. That the soIdierB did tfieir work well is evidenced by theThe old fort will'be moved in its fact that cvery part fUs to a *.T» entirety and.it is not believed that The lowcr paiti whlch i8 seven feetthe expense will he very great. That immediate action is necessary,; however, is evidenced by the facL thatA.reithe blockhouse is only a few inchesfrom the bank of the Chehalis river and could not possibly 'go through the coming winter without toppling into the water.J. 1). Wonderly acted sb toastmaster at the luncheon today and he explained the- need of* immediate action. W. B. Keir gave a short history, of the structure and of the Borst family, its present owner.•According to Mr. Keir old/Jofbph Borst crossed the plains in 1845 and his yvlfe in 18.62. they being married at Grand Mound,two years later. The blockhouse was erected in the wintej of 1855-56 when the Indiana had an uprising. It was never intended as a place of defense, but- was so constructed that it could be used for protection in case of an attack on the colony by the India jib. Thai such, an attack never ■ developed, however, does not decrease the hls-' tone value of the structure.The fort was built on the old military trail between Vancouver ' and t^Tmmvater and was visited in theREGINALD IVTKENNA.Latest Photo of Chancellor of Exchequer of Great Britain.in height and-24 feet square, has no windows and but one door. • There are eight loop holes. The upper section Is 30 by SO feet in size and' contains 12 loop holes. The structure was plainly built as a place of safety and .its builders were apparently true pfoneefB and not .amateurs at the business. *The fort* was built of logs about '.a foot thick, hewed and closely fitted. The’i were cut o.n the south side of the Chehalis, and ferried across. The structure was built 100. yards from any object so that an enemy would have l.o cross an open space in order to reach it. The .block house was never attacked, the bullets lodged in the logs being the result.of target practice. About $100 worth of repair work was recently pul on the structure.Was Lively SettlementFort Borst, as It is called, was a tlvely place at one time. On the opposite bank stood, and 3till stand b, the. old mansion of Joseph Borst, while a store, warehouse and hotel \l^re on the same aide as the fort. The store has been torn down, while-the hotel- was moved to this city and is now occupied as a residence.Among the J'elics of historical value at the fort are an old yoke and a plow used by Joseph Borsl. There is probably not another plow in the state as old or as gigantic in' structure. The beam is 12 feet, lon'g(Continued on Page Sii.)
Newspaper Details
Centralia Daily Chronicle Examiner
Centralia, Washington, US
Mon, Nov 29, 1915
Page 4
Full Page
Clipped by
Timberland R.
WA, USA 02 May 2025
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