Fort Nisqually
Encyclopedia
Fort Nisqually was an important fur trading
and farming post of the Hudson's Bay Company
in the Puget Sound
area of what is now DuPont, Washington
and was part of the Hudson's Bay Company's Columbia Department. Today it is a living history
museum located in Tacoma, Washington
, USA, within the boundaries of Point Defiance Park
. The Fort Nisqually Granary, moved along with the Factor's House from the original site of the second fort to this park, is a U.S. National Historic Landmark
.
expanded to the west coast by forming the Columbia District to oversee its operations in what was once known as the Oregon Country. Forts would be built in the District at central fur gathering locations, accessible to a large number of tribes. In 1824, Fort Vancouver was built a few miles from the Columbia River to the south and Fort Langley was built in 1827 on the Fraser River to the North. The Cowlitz Portage, an overland and shortcut route was soon created establishing a vital link between the two forts. After the attack and murder of Alexander Mackenzie and four men in his party on this route, it was determined a fort located at a half way point was needed for safety and security reasons.
The new midway location was at Nisqually, chosen for its excellent ship anchorage, its convenience for overland travel, the friendliness of local tribes and its prairies for grazing animals and growing crops. The first building was a storehouse of fifteen by twenty feet built on the beach next to the Sequalitchew Indian Village. Nisqually House as it was known was built in April 1832, and had three men with a few supplies left behind to manage it. One year later in May 1833, Chief Trader Archibald MacDonald returned with Dr. William Fraser Tolmie
and seven men to begin the construction of a permanent fort.
Fort Nisqually was the first European trading post on the Puget Sound
. Dr. William Fraser Tolmie
spent the year there, writing about the region extensively in his journal. Fort Nisqually was originally located near the mouth of Sequalitchew Creek
on the plains north of the Nisqually River
Delta, in the present town of DuPont, Washington
.
The original 1833 fort site soon proved to be too small for its operations, and the fort was relocated in 1843 about a mile from the original fort, closer to Edmonds Marsh and Sequalitchew Creek. This new site was chosen because it was close to a water source and timber.
Fort Nisqually was operated and served by Scottish gentlemen, Native Americans, Kanakas (Hawaii
ans), French-Canadians, Metis
, West Indians, Englishmen and, in the last final years before the British
cession of their claims to Puget Sound
with the Oregon Treaty
, a handful of American settlers. Fort Nisqually grew from an obscure trading post to major international trading establishment. The fort's main export was beaver pelts that could be used for making a beaver
-pelt top hat
. Along with the Puget Sound Agricultural Company, a subsidiary of HBC, Fort Nisqually also started to export livestock and crops for local consumption and export to Russian Alaska
, Hawaii
, Mexican California
, Europe
and Asia
. In 1841, a large number of the Sinclair Expedition settlers chose Fort Nisqually a their final destination.
Dr. William Fraser Tolmie
was Chief Factor
of Fort Nisqually as well as the manager of the Puget Sound Agricultural Company from 1843 to 1857. Hi tenure covered the transition from British to American control beginning in 1846 as result of the Oregon Treaty
, and the Puget Sound War
. He was well respected due to his experience with the region and maintained friendly relations with the British, Indian peoples and American settlers arriving to claim land under the Donation Land Claim Act
.
Fort Nisqually was never a military outpost and only one small military engagement was recorded in the fort's history. Nevertheless, American and British military forces occasionally visited the fort. The 1846 treaty
between the United States and Great Britain established the border between British North America
and the United States at the 49th parallel
which left Fort Nisqually on American soil. With the fur trade in decline and increasing harassment from American settlers, tax collectors, and revenue agents, Fort Nisqually closed in 1869 and the United States paid the HBC
$460,000 for its land.
in Tacoma, Washington. The restoration was part of President Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal program to provide jobs to the Depression stricken nation. The effort was funded and backed by the WPA
and the Tacoma Businessmen's Association. Only two buildings, the granary
and factor's house, were moved from their original locations, the rest having fallen into decay.
The Fort Nisqually Granary was declared a National Historic Landmark
in 1970.
Today, the restored Fort Nisqually is a living history museum run by employees and volunteers. Two of the original buildings, the Factor's House, and the Granary remain. In addition, there is a trade store, working blacksmith shop, laborers dwelling house, demonstration kitchen, and kitchen garden. Fort Nisqually has seen recent changes designed to capture its original character. These changes include, most significantly, the restoration of the Factor's House, and the relocation and restoration of the two 1930s era bastions. In addition a section of the palisades wall is designed to replicate the 1847 era wall.
Archeology was conducted in 1988–89 to determine the placement, orientation and size of the northeast bastion and palisades wall. Hundreds of artifacts were discovered and catalogued and have added to the historical record. In addition, much research has been conducted using the original journals as well as hundreds of letters of Edward Huggins. Huggins was a clerk of the HBC who arrived in 1850. Huggins, originally a Londoner eventually became an American citizen and homesteaded the land and buildings after it was abandoned by the HBC. He lived on the land until 1906 when he died of colon cancer. The restored fort is managed by Metro Parks Tacoma.
The 1833 location is located on The Home Course golf course in DuPont. The 1843 location in DuPont, where the buildings now at Point Defiance were originally located, is owned by The Archaeological Conservancy
, is managed by DuPont Historical Society, and is closed to the public, except when opened as part of the Fort Nisqually celebration held each year. Logs mark the location of the original walls, but there are no buildings remaining. The only visible remnants of the original fort are a line of black locust trees, planted in the 1850s. DuPont's History Museum has information on the site plans and a collection of other items from the Hudson's Bay Company.
Fur trade
The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of world market for in the early modern period furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the most valued...
and farming post of the Hudson's Bay Company
Hudson's Bay Company
The Hudson's Bay Company , abbreviated HBC, or "The Bay" is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and one of the oldest in the world. A fur trading business for much of its existence, today Hudson's Bay Company owns and operates retail stores throughout Canada...
in the Puget Sound
Puget Sound
Puget Sound is a sound in the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected marine waterways and basins, with one major and one minor connection to the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Pacific Ocean — Admiralty Inlet being the major connection and...
area of what is now DuPont, Washington
DuPont, Washington
DuPont is a city in Pierce County, Washington, United States. The population was 8,199 at the 2010 census.-History:The Nisqually tribe arrived in the area at least 5700 years ago, subsisting on shellfish from the beaches and salmon from Sequalitchew Creek...
and was part of the Hudson's Bay Company's Columbia Department. Today it is a living history
Historical reenactment
Historical reenactment is an educational activity in which participants attempt torecreate some aspects of a historical event or period. This may be as narrow as a specific moment from a battle, such as the reenactment of Pickett's Charge at the Great Reunion of 1913, or as broad as an entire...
museum located in Tacoma, Washington
Tacoma, Washington
Tacoma is a mid-sized urban port city and the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. The city is on Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, and northwest of Mount Rainier National Park. The population was 198,397, according to...
, USA, within the boundaries of Point Defiance Park
Point Defiance Park
Point Defiance Park in Tacoma, Washington is one of the largest urban parks in the United States. The park includes Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium, the Rose Garden, Rhododendron Garden, the Camp 6 Logging Museum, beaches, trails, a boardwalk, a boathouse, a Washington State Ferries ferry dock for...
. The Fort Nisqually Granary, moved along with the Factor's House from the original site of the second fort to this park, is a U.S. National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
.
19th century history
The Hudson's Bay CompanyHudson's Bay Company
The Hudson's Bay Company , abbreviated HBC, or "The Bay" is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and one of the oldest in the world. A fur trading business for much of its existence, today Hudson's Bay Company owns and operates retail stores throughout Canada...
expanded to the west coast by forming the Columbia District to oversee its operations in what was once known as the Oregon Country. Forts would be built in the District at central fur gathering locations, accessible to a large number of tribes. In 1824, Fort Vancouver was built a few miles from the Columbia River to the south and Fort Langley was built in 1827 on the Fraser River to the North. The Cowlitz Portage, an overland and shortcut route was soon created establishing a vital link between the two forts. After the attack and murder of Alexander Mackenzie and four men in his party on this route, it was determined a fort located at a half way point was needed for safety and security reasons.
The new midway location was at Nisqually, chosen for its excellent ship anchorage, its convenience for overland travel, the friendliness of local tribes and its prairies for grazing animals and growing crops. The first building was a storehouse of fifteen by twenty feet built on the beach next to the Sequalitchew Indian Village. Nisqually House as it was known was built in April 1832, and had three men with a few supplies left behind to manage it. One year later in May 1833, Chief Trader Archibald MacDonald returned with Dr. William Fraser Tolmie
William Fraser Tolmie
William Fraser Tolmie was a Canadian surgeon, fur trader, scientist, and politician....
and seven men to begin the construction of a permanent fort.
Fort Nisqually was the first European trading post on the Puget Sound
Puget Sound
Puget Sound is a sound in the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected marine waterways and basins, with one major and one minor connection to the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Pacific Ocean — Admiralty Inlet being the major connection and...
. Dr. William Fraser Tolmie
William Fraser Tolmie
William Fraser Tolmie was a Canadian surgeon, fur trader, scientist, and politician....
spent the year there, writing about the region extensively in his journal. Fort Nisqually was originally located near the mouth of Sequalitchew Creek
Sequalitchew Creek
Sequalitchew creek, located in DuPont, Washington emanates from Sequalitchew Lake, Fort Lewis, Washington, was the location of the original Fort Nisqually trading post established in 1833 by the Hudson's Bay Company...
on the plains north of the Nisqually River
Nisqually River
The Nisqually River is a river in west central Washington in the United States, approximately long. It drains part of the Cascade Range southwest of Tacoma, including the southern slope of Mount Rainier, and empties into the southern end of Puget Sound....
Delta, in the present town of DuPont, Washington
DuPont, Washington
DuPont is a city in Pierce County, Washington, United States. The population was 8,199 at the 2010 census.-History:The Nisqually tribe arrived in the area at least 5700 years ago, subsisting on shellfish from the beaches and salmon from Sequalitchew Creek...
.
The original 1833 fort site soon proved to be too small for its operations, and the fort was relocated in 1843 about a mile from the original fort, closer to Edmonds Marsh and Sequalitchew Creek. This new site was chosen because it was close to a water source and timber.
Fort Nisqually was operated and served by Scottish gentlemen, Native Americans, Kanakas (Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
ans), French-Canadians, Metis
Métis
A Métis is a person born to parents who belong to different groups defined by visible physical differences, regarded as racial, or the descendant of such persons. The term is of French origin, and also is a cognate of mestizo in Spanish, mestiço in Portuguese, and mestee in English...
, West Indians, Englishmen and, in the last final years before the British
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
cession of their claims to Puget Sound
Puget Sound
Puget Sound is a sound in the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected marine waterways and basins, with one major and one minor connection to the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Pacific Ocean — Admiralty Inlet being the major connection and...
with the Oregon Treaty
Oregon Treaty
The Oregon Treaty is 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 Oregon Country, which had been jointly occupied by...
, a handful of American settlers. Fort Nisqually grew from an obscure trading post to major international trading establishment. The fort's main export was beaver pelts that could be used for making a beaver
Beaver
The beaver is a primarily nocturnal, large, semi-aquatic rodent. Castor includes two extant species, North American Beaver and Eurasian Beaver . Beavers are known for building dams, canals, and lodges . They are the second-largest rodent in the world...
-pelt top hat
Top hat
A top hat, beaver hat, high hat silk hat, cylinder hat, chimney pot hat or stove pipe hat is a tall, flat-crowned, broad-brimmed hat, predominantly worn from the latter part of the 18th to the middle of the 20th century...
. Along with the Puget Sound Agricultural Company, a subsidiary of HBC, Fort Nisqually also started to export livestock and crops for local consumption and export to Russian Alaska
Russian Alaska
Russian America was the name of Russian colonial possessions in the Americas from 1733 to 1867 that today is the U.S. state of Alaska and settlements farther south in California and Hawaii...
, Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
, Mexican California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
. In 1841, a large number of the Sinclair Expedition settlers chose Fort Nisqually a their final destination.
Dr. William Fraser Tolmie
William Fraser Tolmie
William Fraser Tolmie was a Canadian surgeon, fur trader, scientist, and politician....
was Chief Factor
Factor (agent)
A factor, from the Latin "he who does" , is a person who professionally acts as the representative of another individual or other legal entity, historically with his seat at a factory , notably in the following contexts:-Mercantile factor:In a relatively large company, there could be a hierarchy,...
of Fort Nisqually as well as the manager of the Puget Sound Agricultural Company from 1843 to 1857. Hi tenure covered the transition from British to American control beginning in 1846 as result of the Oregon Treaty
Oregon Treaty
The Oregon Treaty is 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 Oregon Country, which had been jointly occupied by...
, and the Puget Sound War
Puget Sound War
The Puget Sound War was an armed conflict that took place in the Puget Sound area of the state of Washington in 1855–56, between the United States Military, local militias and members of the Native American tribes of the Nisqually, Muckleshoot, Puyallup, and Klickitat...
. He was well respected due to his experience with the region and maintained friendly relations with the British, Indian peoples and American settlers arriving to claim land under the Donation Land Claim Act
Donation Land Claim Act
The Donation Land Claim Act of 1850 was a statute enacted by the United States Congress intended to promote homestead settlement in the Oregon Territory in the Pacific Northwest...
.
Fort Nisqually was never a military outpost and only one small military engagement was recorded in the fort's history. Nevertheless, American and British military forces occasionally visited the fort. The 1846 treaty
Oregon Treaty
The Oregon Treaty is 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 Oregon Country, which had been jointly occupied by...
between the United States and Great Britain established the border between British North America
British North America
British North America is a historical term. It consisted of the colonies and territories of the British Empire in continental North America after the end of the American Revolutionary War and the recognition of American independence in 1783.At the start of the Revolutionary War in 1775 the British...
and the United States at the 49th parallel
49th parallel north
The 49th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 49 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses Europe, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, North America, and the Atlantic Ocean....
which left Fort Nisqually on American soil. With the fur trade in decline and increasing harassment from American settlers, tax collectors, and revenue agents, Fort Nisqually closed in 1869 and the United States paid the HBC
Hudson's Bay Company
The Hudson's Bay Company , abbreviated HBC, or "The Bay" is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and one of the oldest in the world. A fur trading business for much of its existence, today Hudson's Bay Company owns and operates retail stores throughout Canada...
$460,000 for its land.
Restoration
In the 1930s, Fort Nisqually was rebuilt in its current location in Point Defiance ParkPoint Defiance Park
Point Defiance Park in Tacoma, Washington is one of the largest urban parks in the United States. The park includes Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium, the Rose Garden, Rhododendron Garden, the Camp 6 Logging Museum, beaches, trails, a boardwalk, a boathouse, a Washington State Ferries ferry dock for...
in Tacoma, Washington. The restoration was part of President Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal program to provide jobs to the Depression stricken nation. The effort was funded and backed by the WPA
Works Progress Administration
The Works Progress Administration was the largest and most ambitious New Deal agency, employing millions of unskilled workers to carry out public works projects, including the construction of public buildings and roads, and operated large arts, drama, media, and literacy projects...
and the Tacoma Businessmen's Association. Only two buildings, the granary
Granary
A granary is a storehouse for threshed grain or animal feed. In ancient or primitive granaries, pottery is the most common use of storage in these buildings. Granaries are often built above the ground to keep the stored food away from mice and other animals.-Early origins:From ancient times grain...
and factor's house, were moved from their original locations, the rest having fallen into decay.
The Fort Nisqually Granary was declared a National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
in 1970.
Fort Nisqually today
Archeology was conducted in 1988–89 to determine the placement, orientation and size of the northeast bastion and palisades wall. Hundreds of artifacts were discovered and catalogued and have added to the historical record. In addition, much research has been conducted using the original journals as well as hundreds of letters of Edward Huggins. Huggins was a clerk of the HBC who arrived in 1850. Huggins, originally a Londoner eventually became an American citizen and homesteaded the land and buildings after it was abandoned by the HBC. He lived on the land until 1906 when he died of colon cancer. The restored fort is managed by Metro Parks Tacoma.
The 1833 location is located on The Home Course golf course in DuPont. The 1843 location in DuPont, where the buildings now at Point Defiance were originally located, is owned by The Archaeological Conservancy
The Archaeological Conservancy
The Archaeological Conservancy is a 5013 non-profit organization that acquires and preserves archaeological sites in the United States. Whereas nearly every other nation protects all archaeological sites within its borders as part of its national patrimony, in the United States archaeological...
, is managed by DuPont Historical Society, and is closed to the public, except when opened as part of the Fort Nisqually celebration held each year. Logs mark the location of the original walls, but there are no buildings remaining. The only visible remnants of the original fort are a line of black locust trees, planted in the 1850s. DuPont's History Museum has information on the site plans and a collection of other items from the Hudson's Bay Company.