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Fort Astoria

Clatsop County, US

Fort Astoria

Fort Astoria (also named Fort George) was the primary fur trading post of John Jacob Astor's Pacific Fur Company (PFC). A maritime contingent of PFC staff was sent on board the Tonquin, while another party traveled overland from St. Louis. This land based group later became known as the Astor Expedi

tion. Built at the entrance of the Columbia River in 1811, Fort Astoria was the first American-owned settlement on the Pacific coast of North America. The inhabitants of the fort differed greatly in background and position, and were structured into a corporate hierarchy. The fur trading partners of the company were at the top, with clerks, craftsmen, hunters, and laborers in descending order. Nationalities included Americans, Scots, French Canadian voyageurs, Native Hawaiian, Kanakas, and various indigenous North Americans, including Iroquois and others from Eastern Canada. They found life quite monotonous, with the fish and vegetable diet boring. Venereal diseases were problematic. Types of fur taken in trade at the fort included beaver, sea otter, squirrel, and red fox. The onset of the War of 1812 caused the PFC to fold as it was too isolated to expect any military protection or support...

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