Fort Boise: Difference between revisions

On an 1818 map, the explorer and mapmaker [[David Thompson (explorer)|David Thompson]] of the [[North West Company]] (NWC) called the Boise, "Reids River," and the outpost, "Reids Fort".<ref>[http://library.boisestate.edu/Special/Maps/BoiseRiver1818.htm Map of Boise River, 1818], Boise State University</ref> [[Donald Mackenzie (explorer)|Donald Mackenzie]], formerly with the Astor Expedition and representing the [[North West Company]], established a post in 1819 at the same site. It was also abandoned because of Indian hostilities.▼

In the fall of 1834, [[Thomas McKay (fur trader)|Thomas McKay]], a veteran leader of the annual [[Hudson's Bay Company]] (HBC) Snake Country brigades,<ref name="gesswhoto">[http://gesswhoto.com/mcloughlin.html Dr. John McLoughlin], ''A Place Called Oregon''</ref> built Fort Boise, selecting the same location as Reid and Mackenzie. Although McKay had retired in 1833, the HBC Chief Factor [[John McLoughlin]] sent him to establish Fort Boise in 1834 to challenge the newly built American [[Fort Hall]] further east on the Snake River. McKay was the stepson of McLoughlin.<ref name="gesswhoto"/> Fort Hall was located about {{convert|300|mi|-2}} to the east, about {{convert|30|mi|-1}} north of the location of present-day [[Pocatello, Idaho|Pocatello]]. It was built by [[Nathaniel Jarvis Wyeth|Nathaniel Wyeth's]] American Trading Company. In July 1834 Thomas McKay's Snake Country brigade was trapping far to the east and met the party sent by Wyeth to select a site and build Fort Hall. At the end of July, McKay departed for [[Fort Vancouver]].<ref name="thwaites">{{cite book |last= Thwaites |first= Reuben Gold |title= Early Western Travels, 1748-1846 |origyear= 1904 |year= 2007 |publisher= Reprint Services Corporation |isbn= 978-0-7812-6454-9 |pages= 201–202, 230–231}} online at [https://books.google.com/books?id=UfChbasKiOMC Google Books]</ref>▼

Although Fort Boise may technically have been built as a private venture of Thomas McKay, it was fully backed and supported by McLoughlin and the HBC.<ref name="history">[http://history.idaho.gov/sites/default/files/uploads/reference-series/0062.pdf Reference Series: "Fur Trade Posts in Idaho"], Idaho State Historical Society</ref> The contest over the Snake Country ended with Wyeth's vacating the region in 1836–37. McLoughlin bought Wyeth's entire fur trading operations west of the Rockies, including Fort Hall and [[Fort William (Oregon)|Fort William]], which he had built on an island at the confluence of the Columbia and the Willamette rivers (in present-day Portland, Oregon).<ref name="mackie">{{cite book |last= Mackie |first= Richard Somerset |title= Trading Beyond the Mountains: The British Fur Trade on the Pacific 1793–1843 |year= 1997 |publisher= University of British Columbia (UBC) Press |location= Vancouver |isbn= 0-7748-0613-3 |pages= 106–107}} online at [https://books.google.com/books?id=VKXgJw6K088C Google Books]</ref> The HBC also took full control of Fort Boise in 1836.<ref name="history"/>▼

The Hudson's Bay Company operated Fort Boise until its abandonment. From 1835–1844, the fort was headed by the [[French-Canadian]] [[Francois Payette]]. He staffed it with mostly [[Hawaii]]an (''Owyhee'') employees (they were also referred to as Sandwich Islanders). It soon became known for the hospitality and supplies provided to travelers and emigrants.<ref>*{{cite web▼

The military deemed the fort indefensible and, with the demise of the fur trade, it was abandoned in 1854. Traders took stock and goods to [[Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Nation|Flathead]] country.<ref>*{{cite book▼

In 1866, the Oregon Steam and Navigation Company constructed and launched the ''[[Shoshone (Snake River sternwheeler)|Shoshone]]'', a sternwheeler, at the old Fort Boise location. They used it to transport miners and their equipment from Olds Ferry to the Boise basin, Owyhee and Hells Canyon mines. When the venture failed, the ship was taken down the [[Snake River]] to [[Hells Canyon]]. Badly damaged when it reached [[Lewiston, Idaho|Lewiston]], it was repaired and used for several years' operating on the lower [[Columbia River]].<ref>[http://www.idahopower.com/riversrec/relicensing/hellscanyon/hellspdfs/techappendices/Cultural/e04_11.pdf] Buckendorf, Bauer, and Jacox, "Non-Native Exploration, Settlement, and Land Use of the Greater Hells Canyon Area, 1800s to 1950s"(p23), Technical Report Appendix E.4.11, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Re-licensing application, Idaho Power Company, 2003</ref>▼

The site of Old Fort Boise is listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]]; it is within the [[Fort Boise Wildlife Management Area]]. A reconstructed replica of the fort in the town of Parma is open to the public by appointment with the city office.▼