Fort William was a fur trading outpost built by American
Nathaniel Jarvis Wyeth in 1834. It was located on the
Columbia River on
Wappatoo Island in what is now part of
Portland, Oregon. It was the site of a murder and the first Euro-American trial in what is now the state of
Oregon. After a few years the post was leased to the
Hudson’s Bay Company in 1837.
Background
The fort was built as part of the
Pacific Trading Company, a joint-stock company formed by Wyeth to exploit the fur trade in the
Oregon Country.The island chosen was previously visited by the
Lewis & Clark Expedition, and was previously inhabited by natives. However, by the time Wyeth established his outpost the island was void of any human habitation due to
diseases that had swept through the lower Columbia wiping out nearly 90% of the native inhabitants.
Oregon Historical Society. Retrieved on February 26, 2008.
Location
Wappatoo Island, now Sauvie Island, lies just north of the main confluence of the
Willamette and Columbia Rivers, with the north end of the island being the location of the confluence with the Multnomah Channel. The post was built on the north end of the island, but was moved the next year towards the center of the island due to flooding.Fort William was west of and on the opposite side of the river from the Hudson’s Bay...
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