The American Fur Company (A.F.C.), John Jacob Astor's enterprise, built Fort Pierre Chouteau in 1832. The fort was named for Pierre Chouteau, Jr., who ran the Western Department of the A.F.C. from St. Louis. The Upper Missouri proved profitable for the A.F.C., producing more furs between 1830 and 1865 than any other location. Buffalo robes traded by local Indian tribes formed much of the business. Chouteau convinced the A.F.C. to put steamboats on the Missouri to make shipping easier. The steamboat Yellow Stone reached Fort Pierre Chouteau in 1832.
Located not far from the confluence of the Bad and Missouri Rivers, Fort Pierre Chouteau hummed with activity. Clerks, traders, trappers, hunters, interpreters, craftsmen, and common laborers worked under the direction of a bourgeois or boss. Business meetings and tribal councils took place at the fort. Fort Pierre Chouteau served as a fur trade fort until 1855 when it became a military fort.
Sponsored by the South Dakota State Historical Society; a Preserve America grant and the Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad Corporation.Images courtesy of the South Dakota Historical Society and the National Archives.
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