Fort Union

Fort Union was built in 1828 on a high bluff along the Missouri River, near the confluence of the Yellowstone River. It is in a location that Lewis & Clark noted as a possible trade site on the upper Missouri, near present day Williston, ND. The fort was built "larger than life" to impress fur traders and make them think this was the best trading post around! The trading post was built by the American Fur Company owned by John Jacob Astor. 

Image from North Dakota Travel & Tourism Guide

The approach to the fort is imposing.

Fur traders met with Fort Union personnel at the small window on the left. If they had promising furs they were let into an enclosed portion of the fort where they had access to a room where furs could be spread out and examined. 

In the examination room there was another trade window where the fur traders could request items to take in trade for their furs. Items they might trade for included woven cloth, beads, pots or pans, metal tools, fire arms and spear heads and other items imported from Europe and those that are not able to be made in the wilderness areas of the northwest. 

Within the walls of the fort there were living quarters, trade shops, buildings for storage and the "Bourgeois House" where the manager, McKenzie, lived. 

Beaver pelts were the high value trading item until the 1830's when beaver-felt hats fell out of favor and were replaced by silk hats. After that tanned buffalo hides (called robes) became the high value item. About 20,000 robes were shipped out each year. One Indian family could process about 20 robes per year. Pelts and hides were pressed and bound into bundles so more could be packed on steam ships that began plying the river in 1832. 

The fort was profitable for 39 years. Around 1867 trade diminished as buffalo began migrating west, Indians engaged in wars and employees began leaving. The US bought the fort when it ceased to be a trading post, but never used the property. Anything of value was moved to establish Fort Buford about 3 miles away, which saved as a supply depot for military operations.