Fort Nisqually Records: Finding Aid mssFN
Gina C Giang
The Huntington Library
March 2020
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Business Number: (626) 405-2191
reference@huntington.org
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.
Conditions Governing Access
Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department.
For more information, contact Reader Services.
Conditions Governing Use
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.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Purchased from George W. Soliday, May 1924.
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.
Scope and Contents
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.
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.
General
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
Box 2
1850 January 14-1851 November 20
Box 3
1851 November-1852 October 28
Box 4
1852 November 3-1853 July 15
Box 5
1853 July 25-1854 July 25
Box 6
1854 August 4-approximately 1854
Box 7
1855 January 1-September 30
Box 9
1856 July 11-1857 January 30
Box 10
1857 February 2-1857 December
Box 12
1859 February 8-October 31
Box 13
1859 November 2-1860 August 31
Box 14
1860 September 5-1861 July 30
Box 16
1863 January 1-October 18
Box 22
1870 January 4-1901 July 11
Volume 1-117
Daily occurrences journals, letter books, account books, record
books
1833-1870
Folder 1
Archbishop Francis N. Blanchet. The Catholic Ladder... FN 1291
1839 April
