Fort Columbia State Park is a 593 acre day-use historical park located at the Chinook Point National Historic Landmark and along 6,400 feet of freshwater shoreline on the Columbia River. Within the park are original U.S. Army Coastal Artillery fort buildings and batteries, active from 1896 to 1947. This area was also home to the Chinook Indian Nation and their famed Chief Comcomly, and explored by Robert Gray and the Lewis and Clark expedition. For the duration of three wars, Fort Columbia was fully manned and operational. Declared a surplus at the end of World War II, the fort transferred to the custody of the state of Washington in 1950 and was then designated as a state park. Twelve historic wood-frame buildings and four coastal defense batteries still stand on the premises.