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| [[Category:Washington Forts]]
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| [[Category:Restored]]
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| [[Category:Preserved]]
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| [[Category:City Park]]
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| '''Fort Nisqually (1833-1869)''' - Established 30 May 1833 by Chief Trader Archibald McDonald for the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC). It was the first European settlement and a principal port for domestic and foreign trade on Pugent Sound and it grew from a remote outpost to a major international trading establishment.
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| The fort was established primarily to facilitate trade with the Indians and any others who might have goods to trade. The primary motivation was the fur trade and the main suppliers were the local Indian tribes. The Indians sought wool blankes, guns and other manufactured goods available at the fort in return for the fur pelts.
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| Initially, the fort was simply a structure on the beach that had been built the previous year. McDonald had left behind a small party of men in Apr 1832 after building a 15' by 20' storehouse on the beach. On his return, 30 May 1833, he began the Fort Nisqually Journal of Occurances and this marks the beginning of Fort Nisqually. The fort was not a military installation at any time although it was occasionally visited by American and British military personnel.
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| The initial cadre totaled 11 men plus Dr. [[William Fraser Tolmie]] who was actually on his way to [[:Category:Fort Langley:Fort Langley]] further up the coast.
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| The 1846 treaty between the United States and Great Britain established the boundary between the two country's claims at the 49th parallel. This treaty left Fort Nisqually on American soil. Twenty three years later on 10 Sep 1869 the United States government agreed to pay the HBC $650,000 for the Puget Sound Agriculture Company lands, including Fort Nisqually. This date is used as the official end of Fort Nisqually.
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| '''Location:''' The original site was on the beach but was moved to the plains above the Nisqually River delta near the present town of DuPont, Washington. In 1934 the ruins were moved to Point Defiance Park in Tacoma, Washington and restoration/reconstruction was begun by the WPA. The site is owned and operated by the City of Tacoma and reconstruction continues.
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| {{Mapit-US-cityscale|47.30352|-122.53303}}
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| '''Links:'''
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| * [http://www.fortnisqually.org/ Fort Site]
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| '''Publications:'''
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| * Carpenter, Cecelia Svinth; ''"Fort Nisqually: A Documented History of Indian and British Interaction"''; 1986, Tahoma Research Service, Tacoma, Washington; ISBN 0-9616969-0-7
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