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Fort Nisqually Records
mssFN
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Table of contents
Contributing Institution:
The Huntington Library
Title: Fort Nisqually records
Identifier/Call Number: mssFN
Physical Description:
35.4 Linear Feet
(22 boxes, 117 volumes, 1 oversize folder)
Date (inclusive): 1833-1901
Abstract: A collection containing letters,
documents, manuscripts, and 117 volumes related to Fort Nisqually, DuPont,
Washington.
Language of Material: Materials are in
English.
Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department.
For more information, contact Reader Services.
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.
[Identification of item]. Fort Nisqually records, The Huntington Library, San Marino,
California.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Purchased from George W. Soliday, May 1924.
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.
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.
Processed by Huntington Staff, circa 1930. In 2020, Gina C Giang created a finding aid
derived from a legacy summary report.
Arranged chronologically.
Individual call numbers included in the collection: mssFN 1-1290.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
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
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
Letters (correspondence) -- Northwest, Pacific -- 19th
century
Letters (correspondence) -- Washington (State) -- 19th
century
Journals (accounts) -- Northwest, Pacific -- 19th century
Journals (accounts) -- Washington (State) -- 19th century
Huggins, Edward, 1832-1907
McLoughlin, John, 1788-1849
Ogden, Peter Skene, 1790-1854
Tolmie, William Fraser
Hudson's Bay Company
Puget Sound Agricultural
Company