It was here at Fort Vancouver, a trading post operated by the British Hudson's Bay Company, that much of the Northwest's important early pioneer history unfolded. The HBC came to the Northwest in search of furs and, for most of the first half of the 19th century, was the only authority in this remote region. Fur trappers, mountain men, missionaries, explorers, and settlers all made Fort Vancouver their first stop in the Oregon country, which at that time also encompassed present-day Washington. Today, Fort Vancouver houses several reconstructed buildings furnished as they might have been in the mid-19th century. Throughout the year, there are a variety of living-history programs.