Fort Yamhill Blockhouse and Joel Palmer House

This is the second building left from Fort Yamhill. After the Fort was disbanded and sold, the Blockhouse was moved nearby and used as a storage shed.

It remained as such until 1911 when it was moved to Dayton, Oregon and setup in the city park. There is some talk about moving it back to Fort Yamhill when rebuilding of the fort starts.

What is most interesting about this blockhouse is it’s odd construction. The second floor is offset at ninety degrees from the first floor. There is no mention in any literature that has been found yet, even the Fort Yamhill military records, as to why this building was built this way. There doesn’t seem to be any records of any other blockhouses at other Forts built in the same design either. The design is slightly more useful then normal as it removes any blind spots during attacks.

Fort Yamhill History Plaque

Nearby, and most likely not a real coincidence, is the Joel Palmer house. As Joel Palmer was the first Superintendent of Indian Affairs and requested the building of Fort Yamhill to protect the Grande Rhonde Indian reservation, this nearby plaque says it’s a memorial to him.

Joel Palmer House

The house is now a restaurant and has a nice wine selection now.

Dayton, Oregon also has a huge number of other historic houses, many of which are on the National Historic Register.