A general reorganization of all North West Company properties, now entirely under Hudson's Bay Company management, had been overseen directly by Sir George Simpson.

The newly established Columbia District needs a more suitable headquarters than Fort George at the mouth of the Columbia.

Simpson is instrumental in the establishment of Fort Vancouver.

Using the HBC position that any settlement of the Oregon boundary dispute would confirm the border placement along the Columbia; Simpson has selected a location situated opposite from the mouth of the Willamette River.

This expanse is an open and fertile prairie that is outside the flood plain and had easy access to the Columbia.