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Fort Astoria (also named Fort George) was the primary
fur trading The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal ecosystem, boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals h ...
post of
John Jacob Astor John Jacob Astor (born Johann Jakob Astor; July 17, 1763 – March 29, 1848) was a German-born American businessman, merchant, real estate mogul, and investor. Astor made his fortune mainly in a fur trade monopoly, by exporting History of opiu ...
's
Pacific Fur Company The Pacific Fur Company (PFC) was an American fur trade venture wholly owned and funded by John Jacob Astor that functioned from 1810 to 1813. It was based in the Pacific Northwest, an area contested over the decades among the United Kingdom of G ...
(PFC). A maritime contingent of PFC staff was sent on board the '' Tonquin'', while another party traveled overland from
St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...
. This land based group later became known as the Astor Expedition. Built at the entrance of the
Columbia River The Columbia River (Upper Chinook language, Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin language, Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river headwater ...
in 1811, Fort Astoria was the first American-owned settlement on the Pacific coast of
North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...
. The inhabitants of the fort differed greatly in background and position, and were structured into a corporate hierarchy. The fur trading partners of the company were at the top, with clerks, craftsmen, hunters, and laborers in descending order. Nationalities included Americans, Scots,
French Canadian French Canadians, referred to as Canadiens mainly before the nineteenth century, are an ethnic group descended from French people, French colonists first arriving in Canada (New France), France's colony of Canada in 1608. The vast majority of ...
voyageurs Voyageurs (; ) were 18th- and 19th-century French and later French Canadians and others who transported furs by canoe at the peak of the North American fur trade. The emblematic meaning of the term applies to places (New France, including the ...
,
Native Hawaiian Native Hawaiians (also known as Indigenous Hawaiians, Kānaka Maoli, Aboriginal Hawaiians, or simply Hawaiians; , , , and ) are the Indigenous peoples of Oceania, Indigenous Polynesians, Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands. Hawaiʻi was set ...
Kanakas Kanakas were workers (a mix of voluntary and Blackbirding, involuntary) from various Pacific Islands employed in British Empire, British colonies, such as British Columbia (Canada), Fiji, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea, and Queen ...
, and various indigenous North Americans, including
Iroquois The Iroquois ( ), also known as the Five Nations, and later as the Six Nations from 1722 onwards; alternatively referred to by the Endonym and exonym, endonym Haudenosaunee ( ; ) are an Iroquoian languages, Iroquoian-speaking Confederation#Ind ...
and others from Eastern Canada. They found life quite monotonous, with the fish and vegetable diet boring. Venereal diseases were problematic. Types of fur taken in trade at the fort included
beaver Beavers (genus ''Castor'') are large, semiaquatic rodents of the Northern Hemisphere. There are two existing species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers are the second-large ...
,
sea otter The sea otter (''Enhydra lutris'') is a marine mammal native to the coasts of the northern and eastern Pacific Ocean, North Pacific Ocean. Adult sea otters typically weigh between , making them the heaviest members of ...
,
squirrel Squirrels are members of the family Sciuridae (), a family that includes small or medium-sized rodents. The squirrel family includes tree squirrels, ground squirrels (including chipmunks and prairie dogs, among others), and flying squirrel ...
, and
red fox The red fox (''Vulpes vulpes'') is the largest of the true foxes and one of the most widely distributed members of the order Carnivora, being present across the entire Northern Hemisphere including most of North America, Europe and Asia, plus ...
. The onset of the
War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...
caused the PFC to fold as it was too isolated to expect any military protection or support from the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
. The
Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...
-based
North West Company The North West Company was a Fur trade in Canada, Canadian fur trading business headquartered in Montreal from 1779 to 1821. It competed with increasing success against the Hudson's Bay Company in the regions that later became Western Canada a ...
(NWC) bought out the assets of the PFC in 1813, including Fort Astoria. They renamed it Fort George and utilized it as the headquarters of its most western operations, primarily based along the Columbia. In 1821, the
Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), originally the Governor and Company of Adventurers of England Trading Into Hudson’s Bay, is a Canadian holding company of department stores, and the oldest corporation in North America. It was the owner of the ...
incorporated Fort George into its collection of posts after absorbing the NWC. The opening of
Fort Vancouver Fort Vancouver was a 19th-century fur trading post built in the winter of 1824–1825. It was the headquarters of the Hudson's Bay Company's Columbia Department, located in the Pacific Northwest. Named for Captain George Vancouver, the fort was ...
in 1825 was planned to allow for a better placed headquarters for the Columbia Department. While Fort George was abandoned in 1825, the arrival of American naval merchants on the Columbia necessitated the reopening of Fort George by the HBC. Competition for control of Fort Astoria was a factor in the British and the Americans' resolving their disputed claims to the
Oregon Country Oregon Country was a large region of the Pacific Northwest of North America that was subject to a long Oregon boundary dispute, dispute between the United Kingdom and the United States in the early 19th century. The area, which had been demarcat ...
. The Fort Astoria Site was added to the list of
National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...
s on November 5, 1961. It is marked by a reconstructed block house.


Background

John Jacob Astor was a
German American German Americans (, ) are Americans who have full or partial German ancestry. According to the United States Census Bureau's figures from 2022, German Americans make up roughly 41 million people in the US, which is approximately 12% of the pop ...
merchant who over several decades financed several successful mercantile missions to
Qing China The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the Ming dynasty ...
. He promoted the idea of a joint company with the Canadian North West Company to open trade posts in the
Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (PNW; ) is a geographic region in Western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though no official boundary exists, the most common ...
. However, Astor was unable to convince the British subjects to join him in such a venture. This did not deter the ambitious financier, who went ahead with his plans by creating the
American Fur Company The American Fur Company (AFC) was a prominent American company that sold furs, skins, and buffalo robes. It was founded in 1808 by John Jacob Astor, a German Americans, German immigrant to the United States. During its heyday in the early 19th c ...
(AFC) in 1808. The Pacific Fur Company was established shortly afterwards as an AFC subsidiary to establish commercial stations on the
Pacific Coast Pacific coast may be used to reference any coastline that borders the Pacific Ocean. Geography Americas North America Countries on the western side of North America have a Pacific coast as their western or south-western border. One of th ...
. Notably Astor was able to recruit several NWC partners and employees into the PFC, including Donald McKenzie, Alexander MacKay, and Duncan McDougall. To create these new fur trade locations, Astor planned to send detachments of laborers and officers both overland on a route similar to one taken by the
Lewis and Clark Expedition The Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery Expedition, was the United States expedition to cross the newly acquired western portion of the country after the Louisiana Purchase. The Corps of Discovery was a select gro ...
and on merchant vessels that rounded
Cape Horn Cape Horn (, ) is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island. Although not the most southerly point of South America (which is Águila Islet), Cape Horn marks the nor ...
for the Columbia. The ''Tonquin'' was used to carry a detachment of employees to the Pacific under the command of Captain Jonathan Thorn. After several days were spent surveying the mouth of the Columbia River, 33 men disembarked on 12 April 1811. Among the PFC men were eleven Kanaka laborers from the
Hawaiian Kingdom The Hawaiian Kingdom, also known as the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi ( Hawaiian: ɛ ɐwˈpuni həˈvɐjʔi, was an archipelagic country from 1795 to 1893, which eventually encompassed all of the inhabited Hawaiian Islands. It was established in 1795 w ...
, including Naukane (also known as John Coxe). Notable among the early staff of Fort Astoria were two Scottish emigrants to Canada, Alexander MacKay, who had previously been with the North West Company, and Alexander Ross.


Operations


Construction

By the end of May 1811, company employees built Fort Astoria out of bark-covered logs that enclosed a stockade and guns mounted for defense. Ross recalled that in almost two months, "scarcely yet an acre of ground cleared" due to the many initial difficulties the PFC employees faced in establishing Fort Astoria:
The place thus selected for the emporium of the west, might challenge the whole continent to produce a spot of equal extent presenting more difficulties to the settler: studded with many gigantic trees of almost incredible size, many of them measuring fifty feet in girth, and so close together, and intermingled with huge rocks, as to make it work of no ordinary labour to level and clear the ground.
By the time an overland party joined them in February 1812, the PFC laborers had constructed a trading store, a
blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...
's shop, a house, and a storage shed for pelts acquired from trapping or trading with the local Native Americans. The traders arranged
cannon A cannon is a large-caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder during th ...
s around the perimeter for defense. The post was to serve as an administrative center for various PFC satellite forts such as
Fort Okanogan Fort Okanogan (also spelled Fort Okanagan but only by nonresident Canadians) was founded in 1811 on the confluence of the Okanogan and Columbia Rivers as a fur trade outpost. Originally built for John Jacob Astor’s Pacific Fur Company, it was ...
.


Activities

On June 15, 1811, two unusual native visitors arrived: the
two-spirit ''Two-spirit'' (also known as ''two spirit'' or occasionally ''twospirited'', or abbreviated as ''2S'' or ''2E'', especially in Canada) is a umbrella term used by some Indigenous North Americans to describe Native people who fulfill a trad ...
Kaúxuma Núpika (known in English as Man-like Woman or ''Bowdash'', which is derived from the
Chinook Jargon Chinook Jargon (' or ', also known simply as ''Chinook'' or ''Jargon'') is a language originating as a pidgin language, pidgin trade language in the Pacific Northwest. It spread during the 19th century from the lower Columbia River, first to othe ...
''burdash'') and their wife, both of the '' Kootenai'' from the far interior. PFC management suspected the two of being spies for the NWC, but at the same time welcomed their detailed geographical knowledge. A NWC employee, David Thompson, arrived about a month later after navigating the entire length of the Columbia River. Thompson knew the Kootenai couple and told the Astorians about Kaúxuma Núpika and their unusual life. Both the Astorians and Thompson's party ended up protecting the life of Kaúxuma Núpika, whose prophecies of
smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by Variola virus (often called Smallpox virus), which belongs to the genus '' Orthopoxvirus''. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (W ...
among the local natives put his life at risk. Thompson, who for months had been out of touch with the evolving politics between the fur companies, believed that the NWC held a one-third partnership with Astor's
Pacific Fur Company The Pacific Fur Company (PFC) was an American fur trade venture wholly owned and funded by John Jacob Astor that functioned from 1810 to 1813. It was based in the Pacific Northwest, an area contested over the decades among the United Kingdom of G ...
. He carried a letter to the effect. The Astorians knew that the deal had fallen through but dealt with Thompson as if the deal were still on. The journals of Thompson and the Astorians are silent on the matter, yet both parties took steps to mislead or thwart the other, while at the same time remaining on friendly terms. It is likely that in this remote region, neither party knew for certain whether the two companies were to be allies or competitors. In June 1812, the number of men at Fort Astoria were reduced to 11 Hawaiians and 39 European descendants. Fear of attack by Chinookans was high and drills were directed by McDougall frequently. A delegation of Chinookans visited Fort Astoria on 2 July quickly left after witnessing these military demonstrations. This fear by the natives convinced the Astorians that "they are not friendly disposed towards us..." having "a desire to harm us." According to Jones, this "latent distrust" of Chinookans by Astorians from this incident was probably unfounded, as they entered the post "for an innocent purpose" and were frightened by the drills.


''Tonquin''

Acting on the orders of Astor, Thorn and ''Tonquin'' departed for
Russian America Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...
in June 1811. At Destruction Island a Quinault man with familial ties to
Vancouver Island Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are of land. The island is the largest ...
, Joseachal, was hired to serve as a translator. While at
Clayoquot Sound Clayoquot Sound is located on the west coast of Vancouver Island in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of British Columbia. It is bordered by the Esowista Peninsula to the south, and the Hesquiaht Peninsula to the North. ...
off Vancouver Island, Thorn became frustrated with the prices set by the local Tla-o-qui-aht people there. He reportedly took an animal pelt and struck the elder appointed as the primary negotiator. This greatly offended the Tla-o-qui-aht, and while Joseachal advised Thorn of the danger, the captain refused to immediately depart. Eventually a brisk trade commenced with the locals who had remained on board, with the pelts being sold primarily for American blades. Soon after receiving the weapons the Tla-o-qui-aht attacked and in the ensuing conflict ''Tonquin'' was destroyed. Josechal was the sole survivor and later returned to Fort Astoria to inform McDougall of the fate of the vessel. The loss of ''Tonquin'' caused a great deal of hardship for the personnel at Fort Astoria as it still held a large amount of the trade goods and foodstuffs intended for trade in the region.


First winter (1811–1812)

Many ''Tonquin'' passengers and crew members listed in
Gabriel Franchère Gabriel Franchère ( 3 November 1786 – 12 April 1863) was a French Canadians, French Canadian author and explorer of the Pacific Northwest. Franchère was born in Montreal to Gabriel Franchère (4 March 1752 – 16 May 1832) and Marie-Félicit ...
comprehensive travel log did not get to winter over after the initial fort was built, due to either being lost (deserting), drowning or perishing in the June 1811 ''Tonquin'' disaster (aside a single Indigenous interpreter survivor). New Kanaka passengers had also been added during the stopover on the Sandwich Islands and similarly, some did not winter over. One Kanaka was exchanged for an experienced voyageur that came with David Thompson during the summer before he returned. Two additions came during fall 1811 following an expedition to establish
Fort Okanogan Fort Okanogan (also spelled Fort Okanagan but only by nonresident Canadians) was founded in 1811 on the confluence of the Okanogan and Columbia Rivers as a fur trade outpost. Originally built for John Jacob Astor’s Pacific Fur Company, it was ...
. Some members of that expedition did return by January 1812 along with the first arrivals of the Wilson Price Hunt overland expedition. The first "Astorians" to operate the fort during the first winter of 1811–1812 were: * ''Tonquin'' remaining passengers and crew members: George Bell, Antoine Belleau, Jean Baptiste Belleau, Russel Farnham,
Gabriel Franchère Gabriel Franchère ( 3 November 1786 – 12 April 1863) was a French Canadians, French Canadian author and explorer of the Pacific Northwest. Franchère was born in Montreal to Gabriel Franchère (4 March 1752 – 16 May 1832) and Marie-Félicit ...
, Paul Jérémie, Joseph Lapierre, Jacques Lafantaisie, Michel Laframboise, Olivier Roy Lapensée, Gilles Leclerc, William W. Matthews, Duncan McDougall, Donald McGillis, Thomas McKay, Donald McLennan, Ovide de Montigny, John M. Mumford, William (Guillaume) Perrault, Francis Benjamin Pillet, Alexander Ross, Augustus (Augustin) Roussil, Benjamin Roussel, David Stuart, Robert Stuart, William Wallace, and Henry Weeks. * Kanaka additions: Harry, William Karimou, James Keemo, George Naaco, Dick Paow, Peter Pahia, Paul Pooar, Bob Pookarakara, Jack Powrowrie, and Thomas Tuana. * Fall 1811 additions: Michel Boulard (in lieu of departing Kanaka Naukane alias John Coxe in June 1811 upon David Thompson return). * Other 1811 Métis, Indigenous, and Iroquois additions: Régis Bruguier, Joseachal Shonowane, and Ignace Shonowane. * January 1812 additions: First "Astorian overlanders" Reed party from the Wilson Price Hunt expedition - William Cannon, André Dufresne, Prisque Felax, Joseph Landry, Guillaume Leroux (dit Cardinal), Étienne Lucier, Donald McKenzie, Robert McLelland, John Reed, Michel Samson, and André Vallée. Although based in Fort Astoria, Ross, de Montigny, Roussel, and Lafantaisie all wintered over around new
Fort Okanogan Fort Okanogan (also spelled Fort Okanagan but only by nonresident Canadians) was founded in 1811 on the confluence of the Okanogan and Columbia Rivers as a fur trade outpost. Originally built for John Jacob Astor’s Pacific Fur Company, it was ...
. Robert Stuart, Pillet, McGillis, and Bruguier wintered around the Willamette River.


''Beaver''

Astor sent ''Beaver'' to resupply the fort which arrived in 1812. Besides additional American and British subjects, a further 26 Hawaiian Kanakas were transported to bolster the company workforce. From there the ''Beaver'' took the stockpiled animal pelts at Astoria on board and sailed for New Archangel. An agreement with the Russian American Governor, Alexander Andreyevich Baranov, was made for the exchange of foodstuffs and trade goods in return for Russian furs. From there ''Beaver'' sailed to the Chinese port of
Guangzhou Guangzhou, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Canton or Kwangchow, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guangdong Provinces of China, province in South China, southern China. Located on the Pearl River about nor ...
to sell the furs for highly valuable Chinese manufactured goods. Due to then ongoing
War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...
, ''Beaver'' remained at Guangzhou until the resolution of the conflict and only reached
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
in 1816.


War of 1812

The
War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...
between the British and Americans brought tension to Fort Astoria, though not as a result of hostilities between the fur companies. On 1 July 1813, the fort officers of Donald Mackenzie, Duncan McDougall, David Stuart, and John Clarke, desiring to abandon the fort agreed to sell the PFC trading stations to the British-owned NWC, "unless the necessary support and supplies arrive with advice from John Jacob Astor of New York, or the Stockholders to continue the trade, the same shall be abandoned as impracticable, as well as unprofitable." NWC staff arrived at the coast after running low on food supplies in the Interior on 7 October, with the liquidation of the PFC assets being executed on 23 October. , a British
sloop-of-war During the 18th and 19th centuries, a sloop-of-war was a warship of the Royal Navy with a single gun deck that carried up to 18 guns. The rating system of the Royal Navy covered all vessels with 20 or more guns; thus, the term encompassed all u ...
, visited Fort Astoria on 12 December 1813, previously instructed to claim the station as a British possession. Its captain William Black found the trading station far from militarily imposing, reportedly exclaiming "Is this the fort about which I have heard so much talking? Damn me, but I'd batter it down in two hours with a four pounder!" Black renamed the post Fort George in honor of King
George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and ...
.


Relations with Lower Chinookan peoples

Scholars have affirmed that the American company and its "economic success depended on mutually beneficial economic exchanges with Indian groups... who controlled trade." Many of the settlements near the station were under the influence of headman Comcomly. Consistently small stockpiles of foodstuffs at Fort Astoria created the need for frequent transactions with Chinookans for sustenance. Seasonal fish runs provided the major nutritional sources for the Columbian River based Natives. Major fish populations active in the Columbia included the candlefish smelt, white sturgeon, sockeye salmon,
coho salmon The coho salmon (''Oncorhynchus kisutch;'' Karuk: achvuun) is a species of anadromous fish in the salmon family (biology), family and one of the five Pacific salmon species. Coho salmon are also known as silver salmon (or "silvers") and is often ...
, and
Chinook salmon The Chinook salmon (''Oncorhynchus tshawytscha'') is the largest and most valuable species of Oncorhynchus, Pacific salmon. Its common name is derived from the Chinookan peoples. Other vernacular names for the species include king salmon, quinn ...
. This dependence on fish made it a primary food source for the Astorians, which caused some discontent among employees desiring a more familiar diet. Terrestrial animals like members of the family Cervidae such as
Roosevelt elk The Roosevelt elk (''Cervus canadensis roosevelti)'', also known commonly as the Olympic elk and Roosevelt's wapiti, is the largest of the four surviving subspecies of elk ('' Cervus canadensis'') in North America by body mass. Mature bulls we ...
and
black-tailed deer Black-tailed deer or blacktail deer occupy coastal regions of western North America. There are two subspecies, the Columbian black-tailed deer (''Odocoileus hemionus columbianus'') which ranges from the Pacific Northwest of the United States and ...
were not found in large numbers around Fort Astoria. This made them another important source of trade for the Chinookans when visiting the PFC station. Another frequent item sold was the wapato root, with the volume consumed by the Astorians large enough to necessitate the creation of a small cellar made specifically to house the produce. Other typical purchases from Chinookans included manufactured goods. In particular woven hats were frequently bought for protection against the seasonal rains These hats were tightly interwoven, making them essentially waterproof.


British fur companies

Fort George soon became the center of NWC operations along the Columbia River, becoming "a Fort William in miniature." At the time the NWC had no competition for the land-based fur trade in the region. NWC laborers developed Fort George by expanding its agricultural fields, in addition to creating "several large buildings erected, and the pallisades icand bastions strengthened." Fort George became an important port-of-call for the maritime fur trade. By 1818, there about 50 NWC employees at Fort George, over half being Hawaiian Kanakas. In 1821, the North West Company was merged into the
Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), originally the Governor and Company of Adventurers of England Trading Into Hudson’s Bay, is a Canadian holding company of department stores, and the oldest corporation in North America. It was the owner of the ...
, which took ownership of the fort. Fort George continued to function the primary entrepôt of the Columbia Department until 1825. During a tour of the newly acquired assets on the Pacific shore, Governor George Simpson spent the winter of 1824 at Fort George. He found the station inappropriate both as a fur post and a regional depot. Simpson ordered the establishment of a new post and depot further in the interior along the Columbia River. A suitable prairie was selected by the Governor as having much more for agricultural projects. Besides his intention for this new post to supply foodstuffs for company stations in the Pacific Northwest, Simpson determined to relocate the Columbia Department administrative apparatus there as well. This new station was christened Fort Vancouver, with the initial construction completed in the spring of 1825. HBC personnel withdrew from Fort George two months later. Neighboring native villagers began to seasonally reside there, "rapidly reducing it to a state of ruin & filth." A small number of lodges, likely maintained by the Clatsop, were established fairly close to Fort George. To counter Americans merchant vessels, a reoccupation of Fort George by the HBC was ordered in 1829. The post was placed at the forefront of competition between the British and American fur traders. While the post was gradually rebuilt, the dilapidated condition and extensive repairs required forced the sole clerk to live in a tent during the winter. The residency of the HBC trader was made to be wide by long. Along with two minor buildings, there was a small warehouse. While ordering a lowering of exchange rates for skins in 1829, Chief Factor John McLoughlin focused on maintaining commercial ties with the Chinookan peoples through "forcing our Competitors to reduce their prices." This continued value placed in the Chinookans by the British subjects went extended beyond a major source of fur pelts. For instance, the surrounding tribes of Fort George were frequently employed to man the post canoes. The sinking of such HBC ships as the ''William and Ann'' at the mouth of the Columbia necessitated the use of the trading post to guide ships inland. Beginning in 1830 the location was continuously used in a small capacity by the company.Fort Astoria
Oregon History Project
The '' Isabella'', a HBC trading ship, crashed near the station during that year. Neighboring Clatsops appeared on the scene, offering to recover property from the ship. Despite Chief Factor McLoughlin lamenting that "we have no alternative but to run the risk or lose the property", the assistance tendered by them proved invaluable for the company. In 1833, the post had a staff of four: an English clerk, a Scottish field manager from
Stromness Stromness (, ; ) is the second-most populous town in Orkney, Scotland. It is in the southwestern part of Mainland, Orkney. It is a burgh with a parish around the outside with the town of Stromness as its capital. Etymology The name "Stromnes ...
, and two Hawaiians. Throughout the 1830s and 1840s, several men served as Fort George's managing officer with James Birnie serving the longest. The Methodist missionary Daniel Lee reported that Birnie maintained "abundant crops of most excellent potatoes and garden vegetables" at the post. The growing
salmon Salmon (; : salmon) are any of several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the genera ''Salmo'' and ''Oncorhynchus'' of the family (biology), family Salmonidae, native ...
harvesting operations of the Hudson's Bay Company were focused on the
fisheries Fishery can mean either the enterprise of raising or harvesting fish and other aquatic life or, more commonly, the site where such enterprise takes place ( a.k.a., fishing grounds). Commercial fisheries include wild fisheries and fish farm ...
surrounding Fort George. The company used the salmon to feed its employees, as well as exporting some to the markets of the
Hawaiian Kingdom The Hawaiian Kingdom, also known as the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi ( Hawaiian: ɛ ɐwˈpuni həˈvɐjʔi, was an archipelagic country from 1795 to 1893, which eventually encompassed all of the inhabited Hawaiian Islands. It was established in 1795 w ...
.


Role in Oregon Question

The USS ''Ontario'' was dispatched in 1817 to reassert the American claim to Fort Astoria, though ordered to avoid an armed confrontation. NWC partner Simon McGillivray dramatically claimed that the vessel was sent "to seize or destroy the establishments and trade of the North West Company..." The NWC partners had already instructed its staff at Fort George to not resist an attempt by Americans to reclaim the fur trading station. Despite the ceremony of formally transferring national possession, actual ownership by the NWC went on as before, and no actual American presence was established aside from the symbolic repossession. The negotiations that would formally end the War of 1812 briefly touched upon the topic of Fort Astoria/George. The American government exerted pressure for the return of the station from British subjects. British Foreign Secretary
Viscount Castlereagh A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. The status and any domain held by a viscount is a viscounty. In the case of French viscounts, the title is s ...
determined a conciliatory policy. In a letter to Charles Bagot on 4 February 1818, Castlereagh stated that "whilst the Government is not disposed to contest with the American govt't the point of possession as it stood in the Columbia River at the moment of the rupture, they are not prepared to admit the validity of the title of the Govt of the United States to this Settlement." Ultimately the
Treaty of 1818 The Convention respecting fisheries, boundary and the restoration of slaves, also known as the London Convention, Anglo-American Convention of 1818, Convention of 1818, or simply the Treaty of 1818, is an international treaty signed in 1818 betw ...
established a "joint occupancy" of the
Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (PNW; ) is a geographic region in Western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though no official boundary exists, the most common ...
between the United Kingdom and the United States. This accord allowed for subjects from either nation to travel to the distant region without hindrance. In 1846, the post finally became United States territory as one of the terms of the
Oregon Treaty The Oregon Treaty was a treaty between the United Kingdom and the United States that was signed on June 15, 1846, in Washington, D.C. The treaty brought an end to the Oregon boundary dispute by settling competing American and British claims to ...
, which ended the
Oregon boundary dispute The Oregon boundary dispute or the Oregon Question was a 19th-century territorial dispute over the political division of the Pacific Northwest of North America between several nations that had competing territorial and commercial aspirations in ...
. In the treaty, Great Britain ceded its territorial rights south of the 49th parallel. As the treaty would have subjected the Hudson's Bay Company to American jurisdiction, the company opted to sell off its possessions south of the 49th parallel, despite the fact that the treaty had specifically guaranteed their right to retain such properties.


Citations


Bibliography


Primary sources

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Secondary sources

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External links


Local information on visiting Fort Astoria


(Archived record of dead link) {{Oregon Pioneer History 1811 establishments in New Spain Astor family residences Astoria Astoria Fur trade Historic district contributing properties in Oregon History of the Pacific Northwest Hudson's Bay Company forts in the United States National Historic Landmarks in Oregon National Register of Historic Places in Astoria, Oregon North West Company forts Oregon Country Pre-statehood history of Oregon American Fur Company