Lesser-known history tidbits of Vancouver, WA
By Erica Lindemann on Apr. 05, 2022
If you know Vancouver, Washington (no, not the Canadian city that was incorporated 29 years after and named after the same sea captain) then you’re likely aware that our city’s roots run deep at Fort Vancouver. While the Fort is perhaps the most obvious site to discover Vancouver’s history (and well worth the trip), other more subtle features of the city hold old-timey truths about how this place came to be.
When walking the streets of downtown, keep an eye out for rosy brick buildings that stand tall and tell a story. The Hidden Brick Company, established in 1871 by Lowell Hidden on the corner of 15th and Main (where the appropriately-named Brickhouse Bar & Grill has operated since 2009), made an estimated 60 million rectangular clay blocks that can be seen at some of Vancouver’s architectural wonders: The Providence Academy, St. James Proto-Cathedral, and the Clark County Historical Museum, to name a few. Two Hidden family homes are located on W 13th St., and if you look extra close you may even find a brick with “Hidden” spelled out on it (like on the east side of the parking lot at Urban Barnhouse).