The Vancouver National Reserve Trust is not a museum but a historic district.

Situated along the Columbia River, Fort Vancouver National Site's 366-acre campus is the only national park site in the Vancouver/Portland metropolitan area. Historically an integral Northwest hub, the site interprets the stories of the Native Americans, British Hudson's Bay Company, the U.S. Army at Vancouver Barracks, early aviation at Pearson Field, the world's largest spruce mill during World War I and the Kaiser Shipyards during World War II. Filled with multiple attractions, including Fort Vancouver, Pearson Air Museum and Officers Row, history is told through enriched community educational programs and world-class artifacts, connecting "what was" to the modern-day Pacific Northwest. Fort Vancouver is located five minutes from downtown Vancouver, Washington and is just across the Columbia River from Portland, Oregon and Portland International Airport.

The mission of the Vancouver National Historic Reserve Trust is to achieve national recognition of the Reserve as a premier historic site. The Trust is a private non-profit organization formed to advance the preservation and education purposes of the Vancouver National Historic Reserve. The Trust supports the Reserve Partners in a collective effort to preserve, enhance, and operate the Historic Reserve for public benefit through education, resource development, advocacy, community identity, programs, and cultural tourism.

Gen. Oliver Otis Howard, a Civil War recipient of the Medal of Honor, served as commanding officer at Vancouver from 1874 to 1880 and helped found Howard University in Washington D.C. The graceful residence in which he lived the last two years of his Northwest assignment was completed in 1879 and renovated for the historic reserve in 1998.