The area around the Columbia estuary was a great trading center of Native Americans for centuries before the Corps of Discovery paddled into Youngs Bay in December, 1805. John Jacob Astor sent American Fur Company parties by land and sea to set up a fur trading post in 1811. The seaport grew. Top left, a pelican roosts on its favorite piling. Top right, Lewis' branding iron on temporary display at the LCT meeting, 2018.