Spokane House was a fur-trading post founded in 1810 by the British-Canadian

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 ...

, located on a peninsula where the Spokane River and Little Spokane River meet. When established, the

's farthest outpost in 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 ...

region was the first ever non-Indigenous settlement 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 ...

(South of present-day 49 degree latitude border). Prior to the arrival of the white traders, the site of what would become Spokane House was a gathering place for area tribes who came to catch and dry salmon, which contributed to its development as a trading post. An American rival of the NWC, the

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 ...

opened a station adjacent to Spokane House, called Fort Spokane. 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 ...

and ongoing supply issues caused the collapse of the PFC, with its posts now under the control of the NWC. The original Spokane House was abandoned in favor of Fort Spokane, though the latter location was still called Spokane House. The second Spokane House saw use as a major post in the interior

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 ...

until the NWC was absorbed by 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 ...

in 1821. During a general tour of the Pacific Northwest, Spokane House was abandoned by George Simpson in 1825, in favor of a new post that became Fort Colvile. The site of Spokane House is in Spokane County in the U.S. state of Washington, just northwest of the city of

Spokane Spokane ( ) is the most populous city in eastern Washington and the county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It lies along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south ...

in the community of Nine Mile Falls.

North West Company

Spokane House was created under direction of David Thompson and built by Jaco Finlay during the winter of 1810–1811. Finlay would remain among the Sqeliz until Thompson's return later in 1811. Visiting the station in June 1811, Thompson noted that Spokane House was the place "where I left a small assortment of Goods to continue the trade, there were forty Tents of Spokane Indians, with Jaco, a half breed, as Clerk." Thompson would soon depart for the mouth of the

, discovering the rival

Fort Astoria Fort Astoria (also named Fort George) was the primary Fur trade, fur trading post of John Jacob Astor's Pacific Fur Company (PFC). A maritime contingent of PFC staff was sent on board the ''Tonquin (1807 ship), Tonquin'', while another party tra ...

Pacific Fur Company

Fort Spokane was a competing station opened by the

, a venture headquartered at

and funded solely by

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 ...

. The arrival of an expedition originating in

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 ...

led by W. Price Hunt along with sorely needed supplies and reinforcements from the ''Beaver'' early in 1812 allowed to company to establish more trade posts to compete against the NWC. Among the various parties directed to leave Fort Astoria for the interior was an outfit headed by John Clarke. This party was directed to create "a district headquarters for trade in what is now eastern Washington and

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

, northern

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...

, and western

Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...

."Ronda, James. ''Astoria & Empire''. Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press. 1990, pp. 240–241. This group was directed to open a station in proximity to the Spokane House. The chosen location was approximately one-eighth of a mile from the original Spokane House on the same flat between the Spokane and Little Spokane Rivers. Relations with the neighboring Sqeliz were peaceable, with the post gate often left open at night. Illim-Spokanee, the father of Spokane Garry, would trade with both fur company posts. Despite being competitors, talks with NWC employees at Spokane House were amicable. McMillan agreed to join Clarke in not selling alcohol to the natives. Parties of traders were supplied to trade with neighboring Indigenous nations in an effort to counter the NWC. François Pillet led a party of six to reside with the Ktunaxa to oppose the

Kootanae House Kootanae House, also spelled Kootenae House, was a North West Company fur trading post built by Jaco Finlay under the direction of David Thompson near present-day Invermere, British Columbia in 1807. The trading post was established near the ju ...

and Russel Farnham commanded a group of men to near

Saleesh House Saleesh House, also known as Flathead Post, was a North West Company fur trading post built near present-day Thompson Falls, Montana in 1809 by David Thompson and James McMillan of the North West Company. It became a Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) po ...

in the Bitterroot Salish homeland. Leaving Farnham's group, Ross returned to the post shortly before 1 January 1813. The PFC laborers had as Ross recalled:

"a snug and commodious dwelling-house, containing four rooms and a kitchen; together with a comfortable house for the men, and a capacious store for the furs and trading goods; the whole surrounded by paling, and flanked by two bastions with loopholes for musketry.Cox (1831), p. 196-199.

When the Astorian wintering parties returned in early May, departure for Fort Astoria was set for 25 May 1813. The majority of the PFC laborers were in this party, with four men under Pillet left at Fort Spokane. Reaching Fort Astoria in August, the group learned the unfortunate news of the

and consensus to sell the PFC assets, including Fort Spokane, to the NWC.

NWC hegemony

Operations based at Spokane House were relocated to Fort Spokane, though the PFC station took the NWC station's name. It became was the North West Company's central depot in the

interior but problems with the location of Spokane House were evident. Spokane House was poorly connected to other posts and reliant upon transport by large pack trains, rather than being able to use water transport. This made the company dependent upon the

Nez Perce The Nez Perce (; autonym in Nez Perce language: , meaning 'we, the people') are an Indigenous people of the Plateau who still live on a fraction of the lands on the southeastern Columbia River Plateau in the Pacific Northwest. This region h ...

for a supply of horses. During this annual transportation of trade goods to Spokane House, thirty five to forty men were employed by the NWC. Simpson, George. ''Fur Trade and Empire''. Edited by Frederick Merk. Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1968. pp. 43–48. Despite several proposals to abandon Spokane House, it remained popular among company employees. Fort Nez Percés was ranked as the main interior post in 1818.

Hudson's Bay Company

The

took over control of the NWC in 1821 and sent George Simpson to tour the new western possessions of the HBC throughout 1824 and 1825. He visited the station accompanied by John McLoughlin, McMillian, and

Peter Skene Ogden Peter Skene Ogden (alternately Skeene, Skein, or Skeen; baptised 12 February 1790 – 27 September 1854) was a British-Canadian fur trader and an early explorer of what is now British Columbia and the Western United States. During his many exped ...

late in October 1824. Many of laborers that worked at Spokane House and its subsidiary stations of the Flathead Post and Kootanae House did not receive favorable reviews by Simpson. In particular he found many lazy, "the very scum of the country... the most unruly and troublesome gang... are under no control & feel their own independence, they therefore require very superior management to make anything of them..." Simpson reduced the employees stationed at Spokane House for 1825 by seven, leaving only fifteen. Simpson returned to the station in April 1825. He began discussions with the Spokane House management to abandon Spokane House in favor of the Kettle Falls. This was due to several reasons including, the distance of Spokane House from the

, the scarcity of fur bearing populations in the area, and the abundance of fish and promising agricultural prospects at the latter location.Simpson (1968), p. 134. That year work began near Kettle Falls on a new fur post, Fort Colvile.

Later history

In 1846 by 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 ...

, the

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the union of the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland into one sovereign state, established by the Acts of Union 1800, Acts of Union in 1801. It continued in this form until ...

ceded all claims to lands in the Pacific Northwest south of the 49th parallel to the United States of America.

Archeological Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscapes. Archaeology ...

digs were carried out at the Spokane House site in 1950–53 and 1962–63. The historic district was defined and added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1988.''Currents and Undercurrents:, An Administrative History of Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area''
National Park Service

Geography

Spokane House was located on a flat peninsula between the Spokane River to the west and the Little Spokane River to the east with the two rivers coming together at the northern end of the peninsula. The flat is approximately 1,550 feet above sea level, but the surrounding terrain is quite rugged. Mountains rise immediately to the northeast of the Little Spokane to heights of 3,100 feet at a distance of two miles. A steep bluff is located immediately to the south of the flat where the Spokane River tumbles over Nine Mile Falls. The historical site is located within Riverside State Park, approximately one-half mile from the community of Nine Mile Falls. Washington State Route 291 connects the site with Nine Mile Falls and the much larger city of Spokane. The Spokane House Interpretive Center is located on the site.

Historical climate (1896-1899)

References

External links

Fort Spokane in Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area
* {{coord, 47, 47, 17, N, 117, 31, 53, W, display=title Forts in Washington (state) History of the Pacific Northwest North West Company Hudson's Bay Company trading posts Buildings and structures in Spokane, Washington History of Spokane, Washington 1810 establishments in the British Empire