Saleesh House (1)

Saleesh House (1) (1809-18??) - A North West Company (NWC) trading post first established by David Thompson and James McMillan in 1809 at present day Thompson Falls, Sanders County, Montana. Became a Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) post in 1821. Probably abandoned in the mid 1800s. History One of three similarly named trading posts established along the Clark Fork River and one post established between the river and Flathead lake. Clark Fork River Trading Posts Post Est. Closed Company Est By Location Notes Saleesh House (1) 1809 18?? North West Company David Thompson & James McMillan Thompson Falls Flathead Post (1) 1812 1812 North West Company Alexander Ross & Ross Cox Noxon Flathead Post (2) 1823 1847 Hudson's Bay Company Alexander Ross Eddy aka Saleesh House (2) Fort Connah 1846 1872 Hudson's Bay Company Neil McArthur & Angus McDonald St. Ignatius aka Flathead Post (3) Established as a North West Company trading post by David Thompson and James McMillan in November 1809 near present day Thompson Falls in Sanders County, Montana. The post was strategically located along the Clark Fork River and a major aboriginal trail now referred to as the "Trail to the Buffalo". Initially the post consisted of three simple log buildings. Saleesh House was located in a beaver-rich area and operated for the next few years under James McMillan. David Thompson returned to Saleesh House for the last time in 1812, found the post in poor repair and refurbished it with more permanent structures. In 1821, the North West Company merged with the Hudson's Bay Company and the Saleesh House operation was likely affected by this change. It is not known how long the post continued to operate after the merger but it may have operated into the mid-1800s when the HBC opened Fort Connah near present day St. Ignatius. Some sources say that it closed after the merger in 1821 because of Blackfeet Indian hostilities. Current Status Exact location of the site is not known but indications are that it was located just east of Thompson Falls, Sanders County, Montana. The David Thompson Monument and the Saleesh House Marker are located on the north side of Hwy 200 at mile marker 50.9. The traditional site of the post was located .25 miles south of Hwy 200 mile marker 52.3 on Saleesh Shores Drive while current thought suggests that it is located approximately two miles east on Airport Road at River View Drive. The GINS database coordinates indicate that it was along Steamboat Drive. All three approximate locations are shown as map points (G), (1) and (2). {"selectable":false,"width":"500"} Location: Near Thompson Falls, Sanders County, Montana. Map points are approximate. Maps & Images Lat: 47.57216 Long: -115.30515 Multi Maps from ACME Maps from Bing Maps from Google Elevation: 2,415' See Also: North West Company North West Company Forts Sources: Roberts, Robert B., Encyclopedia of Historic Forts: The Military, Pioneer, and Trading Posts of the United States, Macmillan, New York, 1988, 10th printing, ISBN 0-02-926880-X, page 477. USGS Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) Database Entry: 1780982 Links: North American Forts - Saleesh House Wikipedia - Saleesh House National Geographic - Saleesh House Visited: 9 Jun 2017