Skip to Main Content

Fur Trade: Trading Posts and State Narratives

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.

Information about the forts is given in books and also in the information about the fur trading history of states.

Books

Fort Union and the Upper Missouri Fur Trade

In this book, Barton Barbour presents the first comprehensive history of Fort Union, the nineteenth century's most important and longest-lived Upper Missouri River fur trading post.

Fort Clark and Its Indian Neighbors

The authors describe the environmental and cultural setting of the fort (named after William Clark of the Lewis and Clark expedition), including the social profile of the fur traders who lived there. They also chronicle the histories of the Mandans and the Arikaras before and during the occupation of the post and the village.

Westward with Dragoons

William Clark's journal on His Expedition To Establish Fort Osage, August 25 To September 22,1808. A Description Of The Wilderness, An Account Of The Building Of The Fort, Treaty-Making With The Osages, And Clark's Return To St. Louis.

Astoria

Astoria is the thrilling, true-adventure tale of the 1810 Astor Expedition, an epic, now forgotten, three-year journey to forge an American empire on the Pacific Coast.

George Catlin, Fort Union, Mouth of the Yellowstone River, 2000 Miles above St. Louis, 1832, oil on canvas, 11 1⁄4 x 14 3⁄8 in. (28.5x 36.6 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison, Jr., 1985.66.388.

View across green plains to river, fort teepees