Fort Vancouver to Fort Steilacoom Military Road
By Curt Cunningham

The Fort Vancouver to Fort Steilacoom Military Road or, "V & S Road" was the first wagon road built on the west side of the Cowlitz River. This road had gone by several other names, some not suitable to print. In 1906, pioneer Ezra Meeker called it "The Mud Road".

As early as 1852, calls we being made to build a wagon road from Fort Vancouver northward through the Cowlitz Corridor to the Puget Sound. Back then, the only way to reach the sound overland was to take the old Indian Trail that the Hudson's Bay Company used to drive livestock north to the Cowlitz farms and Fort Nisqually. This trail ran on the east side of the Cowlitz River to the Cowlitz Landing and was barely wide enough for the animals and people to pass through.

The other way north, which was also the most expensive, was to hire a canoe or take a steamer to Monticello where you would be dumped off onto the riverbank. At Monticello, travelers would then hire another canoe and then tuck themselves in with their belongings like a sardine in a can. The journey was excruciating as the passenger could not make any sudden movements that could upset the canoe for an unexpected dip in the river, and most likely lose all of their stuff in the process.

Not only was the trip up the river painful, it was also very expensive. This was because of the amount of labor it took to move a canoe upstream against a river that descended over 500 feet in the 30 miles from the Cowlitz Landing to the Columbia. This made freight costs as high as $40 a ton. The cost of moving the settlers belongings would cost more than the items were worth when bought new.

The overland trail from Fort Vancouver to Monticello was a terrible swampy route and was not desirable to travelers. Practically all of the traffic between Fort Vancouver and Monticello was on the river. In 1852, Edward J. Allen took the trail leading from Fort Vancouver to Monticello and wrote about the trip in his journal.

"Winding through the woods and wet underbrush, following a trail not as plain as a cow path, which we wandered along having to frequently brush the moss off the pines so we could find the old blaze, it was no cheering work. After a harrowing crossing of the swollen Cowlitz, the party arrived at the flourishing town of Monticello, consisting of 4 houses. As we ate out breakfast, we listened to the often repeated tales of the horrible prospect we had ahead of us."

Settlers who had livestock had to drive them up the trail to the Cowlitz Landing while the rest of the family took canoes along with their belongings for the 2 to 3 day trip up the river, hoping to meet the overland party at about the same time. After reaching the Cowlitz Landing, the only way to reach the Puget Sound was by taking the old Portage Trail to Olympia. In the beginning, this trail was no better than the trails that ran along the Cowlitz River.

The First Survey

The first survey of the route up the west side of the Cowlitz River was in 1854, when F. Kennedy, Ira Ward and Isaac Hays set out from Monticello to locate the new road. They reported that a route was feasible, with most of the way on higher ground. They also reported that much work would be needed in clearing the road through about 5 miles of dense forest. The worst portion of the route was 4 miles north of the Cowlitz River, on a ridge between the Grand Prairie and Drew's Mill.

In 1855, the 33rd Congress approved $30,000 to be spent on the construction of a Military Road between Fort Vancouver and Fort Steilacoom. That summer, George Gibbs was ordered to survey the proposed route. Gibbs finished his survey and returned to Fort Vancouver in November of 1855 and construction was planned to begin in the summer of 1856. Lt. George H. Derby was assigned to superintend the construction and he divided to work into seven sections. The first two sections were between Fort Vancouver and Monticello along the east bank of the Columbia for about 50 miles. The remaining 5 sections were between Monticello and Steilacoom for a distance of 84 miles.

The funds allocated for construction proved inadequate. Many unseen difficulties were encountered and work progressed very slowly. These difficulties led to the removal of Lt. Derby who was replaced by Lt. George Mendell who was under the supervision of Colonel W. W. De Lacy.

By 1857, there was a useable road for wagons between Steilacoom and Drew's Mill. The rest of the way to Monticello was just a foot trail. In the summer of 1858, George Drew and William James led a work crew and completed 17 miles of road beginning at Drew's Mill and running south to Arkansas Creek opposite Castle Rock when the government funding ran out. That year, the military discontinued the Military Road Department and ordered Captain George Thom to close the books. Captain Thom approved of the 17 miles that had already been completed and there was just enough money left to widen the trail the rest of the way to Monticello so that pack trains could at least get through.

Nothing else was done to the road until 1860, when congress approved $10,000 to be used between Monticello and Drew's Mill. After examining the road, Captain Thom found that the first 6 miles had already been completed. It was the next 4 miles that was going to take all the money he had. Captain Thom had requested $40,000 more, but his request was denied. That year the only work done was a half a mile of corduroy just south of the Jackson Inn.

The next spring before construction began on the last sections of the road, Captain Thom decided to build a new road that was about a mile east of Drew's Mill. This new route would split off from the old road near the intersection of SR 506 and the Westside Highway. This is just east of Vader and this road today is still called Military Road. The older road to Drew's Mill would become a section of the telegraph cable that ran between Portland and Victoria in the 1860's. This is why it is today called Telegraph Road.

The work to finish the road began in May of 1861. There were numerous hills that would require heavy grading and ditching work along with 34 bridges and 5 miles of corduroy. The road was finally completed on August 19, 1861 and was opened for travel between Vancouver and Steilacoom. Stage Coaches started running on the road the very next day.

Even though the road was completed, it was no means a very good road. Those who have traveled over it said it was the worst road they have ever been on.