The fort was built in the late 1850s in an old oak grove watered by natural springs by future Civil War general Robert S. Garnett.

The fort was built along the route used by the Yakama people to travel between the Yakima Valley and traditional fishing areas along the Columbia River.

Fort Simcoe is viewed this way because the U.S. government merged 14 different tribes from their original homes and enforced assimilation to American culture.

The park is primarily an interpretive effort, telling the story of mid-19th-century army life and providing images of the lives of local Native Americans.

The interpretive center, the original commander's house and two officer's buildings with period furnishings open to the public from April through September on Wednesday through Sunday.