The Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) was given a royal charter by the British Crown in 1670 which provided it with a trading monopoly over a vast domain in Canada. By the nineteenth Century, HBC had extended its empire into the Pacific Northwest. In 1825, HBC established Fort Vancouver on the Columbia River as the administrative center and principal supply depot of the Columbia Department, an area of about 700,000 square miles. Fort Vancouver has been part of the National Park System since 1948.
For the hundreds of people who worked for the Hudson’s Bay Company at Fort Vancouver, bread in the form of biscuits was an important part of their diet. In the Bake House, three to four bakers worked long hours at the twin ovens. At least one of the bakers lived in the building’s attic. To ensure a consistent baking temperature, the ovens needed to be stoked and tended around the clock.
After 1841, employees received a daily ration of 1.5 pounds of biscuit when potatoes were unavailable.
Two large brick ovens in the Bake House were used to produce large quantities of sea-biscuit—a cracker containing only flour and water. According to the display:
“Sea-biscuits were rations for fort labourers, the staple food of the trapping brigades and sailors, and were also a common trade and export item.”
The ovens were heated by building a fire inside them and then cleaning out the ash when they reached the proper temperature. The biscuits were then placed deep inside the oven to bake using a long wooden spatula known as a peel.
More Museum Photo Tours
Museums 101: Japanese glass fishing floats (photo diary)
Museums 101: A homestead kitchen (photo diary)
Museums 101: Wenatchee General Store (photo diary)
Museums 101: Model railroad (photo diary)
Museums 101: Lewis and Clark through paintings (Photo Diary)
Museums 101: Labor Unions (photo diary)
Museums 101: Some North Idaho history (photo diary)
Museums 101: The Fort Vancouver Fur Warehouse (Photo Diary)