History of Fort Nisqually
By Curt Cunningham

In the spring of 1832 Chief Trader Archibald McDonald and a party of 8 or 9 company employees began a journey north from Fort Vancouver to Fort Langley via the overland route. The party arrived at the mouth of Sequalitchew Creek on April 8, 1832, where they camped for 12 days. About 150 yards above the beach they constructed a log storehouse 15' x 20' for the goods they had brought with them. This building would become known as the Nisqually House. After the 12 days McDonald and his party broke camp and continued onward to Fort Langley. William Ouvrie and 2 other employees remained at the storehouse, with some blankets, a couple of kegs of potatoes and some garden seeds.

The following year on May 30, 1833, Chief Trader McDonald returned to Nisqually House with 4 men, 4 oxen and 4 horses. They came this time to establish a new trading post. McDonald was uncertain whether to build the fort at the mouth of the creek or 150 yards above, where the log storehouse stood. But one thing was certain — potatoes and peas were to be planted at once. Already, in a small garden, planted earlier in the spring, onions, carrots, turnips and cabbages were sprouting.

Soon after, the supply ship Vancouver which had left Fort Vancouver the same day as the overland party, arrived at Nisqually and began unloading her cargo. The items were placed into the storehouse and trading ensued that afternoon on the beach. The first day of trading brought in 90 beaver pelts and many other pelts from different animals.

It didn’t take long for the neighboring tribes to learn of the new store opening, and came in groups to see the new place. The new post quickly became a busy place and the people from visiting tribes would outnumber the local Sequalitchew. Fur traders from all over the region traveled to Nisqually.

The new post was at a location of wonderful beauty along the broad waters of Puget Sound. In front of the fort to the northeast is a view of the white capped Olympic range, and around the grassy spot, a hundred yards square was the line of tall pines, except to the northeast, which gave full view of a prairie covered with wild flowers. Mount Rainier towered white-crowned above it all. In this location rose the fort, which had no pen for the oxen and the storehouse was not yet roofed.

It was the halfway house between Fort Vancouver and the forts on the upper waters of the sound. Dr. Tolmie studied the flowers on the prairie, while the men worked at the building of the fort under the supervision of McDonald. In their odd moments the two "gentlemen" would talk about the authenticity of Ossian and read Cowper's poems, which were new to both. Tolmie then gave an able critique on Chateaubriand's "Le Genia du Christianisme," which he had read in the latest issue of Blackwood's Magazine.

By June 20, 1833 the French-Canadians were building a dwelling for their own use, the storehouse and dwelling for the "gentlemen" being completed. All was to be surrounded by pickets, leaving only room for a path between the stockade of the fort and the high water mark on the beach. Fur trading was carried on when the Indians came in, and the garden was weeded and watered carefully. Later in the month McDonald was sent to take charge at Fort Colville, and chief trader, Francis Heron, was put in charge of Fort Nisqually. Heron was a tall, stout Irishman, who was displeased with his appointment at Nisqually after experiencing the comforts of Fort Colville.

The location of the fort was not the right one, in Heron's estimation, and he started out on a survey of the surrounding country. Later that evening after Heron had departed, Tolmie prepared for a night's sleep; he had 5 loaded guns in one corner of his room and a rifle and pistols at the head of his bed. This was because they were a little unsure about the Sequalitchew as they were not yet aware of the company's power in the region. An attack on the fort by them was always a possibility. The following day the Sequalitchew and the people from the neighboring tribes became convinced of the power of the Hudson's Bay Company.

The story goes; As Heron was still out exploring a new location for the fort, a small earthquake occurred. The Sequalitchew proclaimed; "The chief's (Heron) medicine is strong; he has gone up the hill to shake the ground." Heron decided to keep it safe and quell the employee's anxieties and moved the fort to the Deschutes river at Tumwater. After transporting all their supplies and merchandise there, they found that the S'Klallam people would not go beyond the first fort. So they sent everything back until McLoughlin could be consulted.

The question of where to locate the fort would become an argument and the drama would continue the rest of the summer. By the fall of 1833 the location of the fort was settled and it would remain at Nisqually. The site they chose for the buildings was not a suitable location. It was on a high hill a mile away from a water source, and there was limited anchorage for sailing vessels.

The fort was near a large population of people about midway between Fort Vancouver and Fort Langley. Some have said that this post was needed for the safety of the Hudson's Bay (HBC) employees who were traveling up and down the Puget Sound and through the Cowlitz Corridor. This may have been true, although the location of Fort Nisqually was an ideal place as it was easily reached by canoe from all points on the sound. There was fresh water available and vast open prairies that could sustain a large herd of stock. There was also a large source of timber nearby that would furnish them with firewood and building material.

Some of those first HBC Employees of this new post were; Chief Trader Archibald McDonald, William Ouvrie, Pierre Charles, Edward Huggins, James Rindale, Gilbert Powers, Peter Tahl, William Brown, Louis Vivet, Alexis Aubuchou, Annaweskum McDonald and Wasaisen. Dr. William F. Tolmie was also there for a short time tending to Pierre Charles, who had injured himself with an axe. Dr. Tolmie would return in 1843 as Chief Factor of the fort.

As time progressed, the prairie became dotted with farms, cattle ranches and sheep stations. In just a few years Fort Nisqually had transformed into an important supermarket and became less of a fur trading post.

In 1837, to help bolster the population that would help with the British claim of the lands north of the Columbia, Dr. John McLoughlin persuaded some newly retired HBC employees to settle on a prairie near the Cowlitz Landing. These first settlers were; Simon Plomondon, Marcel Bernier and Antonie Gobar. They agreed and began farming on the Cowlitz Prairie. The Cowlitz Prairie is located about 3 miles north of the Cowlitz Landing. From 1838 to 1849, the Cowlitz Landing became known as Plomondon’s Landing by the HBC people.

As the farming business grew and became profitable, the company decided to create an agricultural division to separate the farm business from the fur business. The new division would handle the contracts to supply the HBC forts as well as the Russians and Hawaiians. This new company officially opened for business on December 23, 1840 under the name, the Puget Sound Agricultural Company (PSAC).

The Puget Sound Agricultural Company

After Fort Vancouver was established in the late 1820's, all the food and supplies for the posts were brought in by sailing ships from England and Hawaii. This proved to be quite expensive so the company decided that all their posts should become self sufficient. Some of the officers of the company back in England were opposed to the HBC becoming a farming operation and wanted their business to remain a fur trading venture. After plenty of discussion these officers agreed to start a farming company separate from the fur business.

To accomplish this the PSAC was formed in 1838 as a subsidiary of the Hudson's Bay Company. The new division would handle the contracts to supply meat and produce to the HBC forts, the Hawaiian Islands, and the Russians who worked for the Russian-America Company at their post located in Sitka, Alaska. At it’s peak, the farming land at Nisqually had encompassed all of the Steilacoom plains in Pierce County and up until 1851, the company had farms on the Yelm and Tenalquot prairies in Thurston County.

Fort Nisqually became the headquarters for the PSAC. The PSAC would answer to the HBC, at Fort Vancouver. In addition to their farms on the Steilacoom plains, the PSAC had farms on the Cowlitz prairie and at Fort Vancouver. The PSAC raised 1,000’s of sheep for their wool and meat, and they also raised hundred's of cattle that would roam freely over the prairies without much human contact. The cattle would become feral and the bulls would be extremely dangerous to bring in from the fields to be butchered, or loaded into waiting ships. The cattle destined for the ships would be corralled on the beach, where they would be loaded alive by their horns and placed into the ship holds.

The PSAC would also buy wheat and oats which were grown by retired employees such as Simon Plamondon at the Cowlitz prairie, Marcel Bernier at Newaukum, Francois Gravelle on the Canadian plain, and Thomas Linklater on the Tenalquot prairie. It is said that they also purchased grain from Luther M. Collins who had a plot of land near Renton in King County.

In the fall of 1841 Sir George Simpson arrived at Fort Nisqually. Simpson was the Governor of the HBC Territory and was making an overland journey, around the world. This is what he said about the Steilacoom/Nisqually Plains; "The Nisqually Plains has a soil found to be better fitted for pasturage than tillage, it had been appropriated almost exclusively to the flocks and herds, so that now with only 200 acres of cultivated land, it possessed 6,000 sheep, 1,200 cattle, besides horses, pigs, etc.."

By 1851, the company had 1,500 acres of land under cultivation at Nisqually along with 10,000 sheep and 6,000 cattle. The labor was performed entirely by servants who were hired from Scotland and Hawaii and many from the different tribes in the region and from the east.

The First Fort Nisqually

In the spring and summer of 1841 Lieutenant Charles Wilkes who led the United States Exploring Expedition had visited Fort Nisqually. In his journals he wrote a description of the old 1833 fort and its surroundings. the following is taken from his journal; "Around Nisqually there are many beautiful rides, and if there were any vehicles, they would be equally favorable as drives; for the country admits of a carriage being driven in almost any direction, within many miles of the fort. The Company have as yet few fields enclosed, nor is it necessary that they should have, so long as the cattle are watched and penned in at night."

"The practice of penning is adopted, not only to protect the animals from the wolves but to save the manure and apply it to a useful purpose. These pens are about half an acre in size, and are enclosed with our Virginia fence, made of pine rails. They are moved once a week, which, in the course of the year, gives a fertilizing effect to a large piece ground; and all those portions of that have been poor and barren are thus brought readily, and at little expense of labor, under good cultivation."

"On this farm there were about 200 acres under cultivation, which I was informed would yield 15 bushels of wheat to the acre, and it is intended to convert it into a grazing farm, for which purpose a stock of cattle was on its way from California, during the year of our visit. It is estimated that 3,000 sheep, 1,500 head of cattle, and about 400 horses, may be maintained at this place. Mr. Alexander C. Anderson, a clerk of the company, whom I have mentioned as being in charge of this post, receives no more than 100 pounds for his superintendence."

On May 11, 1841 Wilkes arrived at Nisqually by sailing vessel. This is what he said upon his arrival; "Twelve miles more brought us to the anchorage off Nisqually, where both vessels dropped their anchors about eight o'clock. Here we found an English steamer (Beaver) under going repairs. Soon after visiting Mr. Anderson who is in charge of the fort, and Captain McNeil. They gave me a warm welcome, and offered every assistance in their power to aid me in my operations. Nothing can exceed the beauty of the area, not a shoal exists within the Straights of Juan de Fuca, Admiralty Inlet, Puget Sound, or Hood's Canal, that can in any way interrupt their navigation by a 74 gun ship."

"I venture nothing in saying, there is no country in the world that possesses water equal to these. The anchorage off Nisqually is very contracted, in consequence of the rapid shelving of the bank. that soon drops off into deep water. The shore rises abruptly, to a height of about 200 feet, and on the top of the ascent is an extended plain, covered with pine, oak, and ash trees, scattered here and there so as to form a park-like scene. The hill-side is mounted be a well constructed road, of easy ascent. From the summit of the road the view is beautiful, over the Sound and its many islands, with Mount Olympus covered with snow for a background. Fort Nisqually with its out buildings and enclosure, stands back half a mile from the edge of the table-land."

On May 15, 1841 Wilkes departed the sailing vessel and returned to Fort Nisqually for a visit before he headed south to Fort Vancouver. He said the fort was constructed of pickets, enclosing a space about 200 feet square, with 4 corner bastions. Within this enclosure was the agent's store, and about half a dozen houses, built of logs, and roofed with bark. This fort was considered quite large when it was first established, but since it became an agricultural as well as a fur trading post the place became too small. 

The location of the old fort was ill chosen, on account of the difficulty of obtaining water, which had to be brought from a distance of nearly a mile. Wilkes was informed that there was now little necessity for any sort of protection from the Indians, who were few in number, and were very friendly. Both Alexander Anderson and Captain McNeil resided in the fort with their families; both were married to women who were half Indian and half European, and they had several children between them.

Anderson then showed Wilkes the garden which was in an enclosure. Here he saw peas a foot high, strawberries and gooseberries in full bloom, which were nearly ripe. Nearby he could see fields of grain, and large barns and sheepfolds, agricultural implements, and workmen with cattle engaged in various operations of husbandry. Wilkes also visited the Rev. Dr. Richmond who had settled there some months prior to Wilkes visit. Richmond who was an American, occupied a log house on the border of what was known as the Mission prairie.

The soil around the fort is composed of light brown earth, intermixed with a large proportion of gravel and stones; which required an abundance of rain to bring any crop to perfection, and the rain rarely falls during the summer months. There was a large dairy, with several hundred head a cattle which included 70 dairy cows, which yielded a large supply of butter and cheese. They also had large crops of wheat, peas, and oats. During Wilkes' visit the company employees were preparing the ground for potatoes.

The New Fort Nisqually

After the establishment of the Puget Sound Agricultural Company in 1838, the location of Fort Nisqually proved to be inadequate. In the fall of 1838 John McLoughlin ordered Dr. Tolmie to move the fort one mile inland to a new location near Sequalitchew creek. This was at the edge of the prairie. The new fort took 5 years to construct and was completed in 1843. During the construction, the PSAC livestock was dispersed eastward where sites for large sheep parks and cattle stations were selected.

As time progressed, the plains became dotted with farms, cattle ranches and sheep stations. Fort Nisqually had transformed into an important supermarket, and it became less of a fur trading post. The farming business continued to grow with each passing year and it quickly became profitable. 

The sheep stations were mobile and the shepard's had little shacks that could be moved from pasture to pasture. There were approximately 30 sheep stations and dozens of farms and ranches scattered across the plains. There was also a dairy farm on southern shores of American Lake. Some of the known stations and farms were; Tlithlow, Arable Farm, Fort Farm, Muck Station, Sastuc, Whyatcheiw, Yanalacows, Tenalquot, Shimmish, Spanueh, Moluck House, Elk Plain, Tu-chat-chee, Silgowkas, Ashland, Kul-kul-eh, Couris and Yelm.

Roads had to be constructed through the forests in order to transport the produce back to the fort from some of the outlying stations. They used 2-wheeled carts which were pulled by a team of oxen. These roads were built during the late 1840’s by the employees of the company who also had the task of keeping them open. Some of these old farm roads are still used today inside Joint Base Lewis-McCord and throughout Pierce county.

In 1853 a new chief factor's house, was built for Dr. Tolmie. The house was constructed of sawed lumber, obtained from the first water-power mill constructed on Puget Sound. The mill was small, with only one up-and-down saw. The lumber cost from $30 to $40 a thousand feet. It was a strongly constructed house, 50 feet by 30, and one story in height, with a wide veranda around three sides of it. The work was done principally by a skilled mechanic, a discharged United States soldier, but under him worked a number of rough carpenters; French Canadians, Kanakas, and Indians.

In 1855 Edward Huggins was put in charge of the PSAC's business during the outbreak of hostilities. He took his family and some employees and traveled to Muck station where he stayed for the next 4 years. In 1857 Huggins became an American Citizen. Muck station, which was the headquarters of the company out in the field, was located along Muck creek north of Roy on SR-507. In the 1870's the place would become known as the Henry Kandle farm.

In 1858, 4 oak trees were planted in front of the chief factor's house at Nisqually. These 4 oak trees still stand today overlooking this once bustling place. If you stand at the kiosk on Center Drive, you can see the trees and imagine what it was like with the old chief factors house behind them.

In 1859 Huggins succeeded Dr. William F. Tolmie as agent for the company at Fort Nisqually, and moved into the chief factor's house. Huggins was a clerk and although he was in charge of the fort, he was not promoted to chief. Huggins was the last person in charge of the fort and in 1870, all of the company property was sold to the U.S. Government. Huggins was then ordered to take charge of a fort in the interior but decided to remain in the area and resigned from his service with the company. Huggins then made a pre-emptive claim on the land surrounding Fort Nisqually and continued to lived there until 1907.

The End of an Era

In 1907 the old fort and the surrounding area was purchased by the Dupont Powder Works. Luckily the area surrounding the fort was not developed. By 1912 nothing remained of the old fort except for a grain warehouse and the chief factors house which had been Edward Huggins home from 1859 to 1907.

In 1909 the Old Steilacoom wagon road coming from Olympia was abandoned between the Mounts Road exit on the freeway to the old fort. About a quarter mile of Center drive, which passes by the old 1843 fort site is on the old wagon road.

In 1934 the 2 remaining structures of the old fort were moved to Point Defiance where a replica of the fort was constructed. The replica fort was dedicated on September 5, 1934.