Collection context
Summary
- Abstract:
- A collection containing letters, documents, manuscripts, and 117 volumes related to Fort Nisqually, DuPont, Washington.
- Extent:
- 35.4 Linear Feet (22 boxes, 117 volumes, 1 oversize folder)
- Language:
- Materials are in English.
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item]. Fort Nisqually records, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
Background
- Scope and content:
-
A collection of approximately 2,600 items from 1833 to 1901, which consists of letters, documents, and manuscripts; the collection also includes 117 volumes of journals of daily occurrences, letter books, accounts, and records related to the activities of the Hudson's Bay Company and the Puget Sound Agricultural Company at Fort Nisqually. Subject matter in the collection includes: fur trade with Native Americans; life in the various forts and posts (particularly Fort Vancouver and Fort Victoria); the early history of Fort Steilacoom; settlement and history of the Pacific Northwest; and shipping on the Pacific coast and in Puget Sound. Significant persons represented in the collection include Edward Huggins, John McLoughlin, Peter Skene Ogden, and William Fraser Tolmie.
- Biographical / historical:
-
Fort Nisqually, on Puget Sound near the mouth of the Nisqually River in the state of Washington, was founded as a Hudson's Bay Company post in 1833. Originally a fur-trading station, it became mainly a supply station for the other company forts in the region. The development of stock raising and farming on the surrounding lands led to the organization in 1838 of the Puget Sound Agricultural Company as a subsidiary of the Hudson's Bay Company, with William Tolmie as manager. After 1845, when friction developed between the company and the increasing number of American settlers, the United States government bought out the Fort Nisqually holdings of both the Hudson's Bay and the Puget Sound Agricultural companies, and the business closed in 1870.
- Acquisition information:
- Purchased from George W. Soliday, May 1924.
- Processing information:
-
Processed by Huntington Staff, circa 1930. In 2020, Gina C Giang created a finding aid derived from a legacy summary report.
- Arrangement:
-
Arranged chronologically.
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Indexed terms
- Subjects:
- Frontier and pioneer life -- Washington (State) -- Puget
Sound
Fur trade -- Northwest, Pacific -- History -- 19th century -- Sources
Indians of North America -- Washington (State) -- Puget Sound
Shipping -- Northwest, Pacific -- History -- 19th century -- Sources
Letters (correspondence) -- Northwest, Pacific -- 19th century
Letters (correspondence) -- Washington (State) -- 19th century
Journals (accounts) -- Northwest, Pacific -- 19th century
Journals (accounts) -- Washington (State) -- 19th century - Names:
- Hudson's Bay Company
Puget Sound Agricultural Company
Huggins, Edward, 1832-1907
McLoughlin, John, 1788-1849
Ogden, Peter Skene, 1790-1854
Tolmie, William Fraser - Places:
- Fort Nisqually (DuPont, Wash.) -- History -- 19th century --
Sources
Fort Steilacoom (Wash.) -- History -- 19th century -- Sources
Vancouver Barracks (Wash.) -- History -- 19th century -- Sources
Puget Sound Region (Wash.) -- History -- 19th century -- Sources
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department. For more information, contact Reader Services.
- Terms of access:
-
The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item]. Fort Nisqually records, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
- Location of this collection:
-
1151 Oxford RoadSan Marino, CA 91108, US
- Contact:
- (626) 405-2191