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Fur Trade: Home

The Fur Trade was one of the first industries in North America which began in the 1500s and was very important to the national economy until the mid 1800s. This guides emphasizes St Louis and the Rocky Mountains and Upper Missouri River fur trade.

Box 1

Elizabeth Davey Lochrie, The Fur Traders (Study for St. Anthony, Idaho Post Office Mural), 1938, oil on paperboard, 14 1⁄8 x 28 in. (35.8 x 71.1 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the General Services Administration, 1985.8.26

An important industry, the fur trade, developed between the Indians who traded animal pelts to  the French, British and Americans for knives, textiles, etc.  St Louis became an important player in the fur trade  both because of its river access and because of the unusual ability of specific St Louisans to interact with the native Americans.