This is just the beginning! Our collection holds over 300 years of history, including rare newspapers, obituaries, marriage records, birth records, and so much more—most of which you won’t find anywhere else!
Race for a New Fur Empire in Columbia Basin
This feature recounts the 1810 fur trade race led by David Thompson to reach the Columbia River before John Jacob Astor's Pacific Fur Company. It covers Astor’s plan, North West Company resistance, and Thompson’s perilous Athabasca route with his crew during a cold Christmas stretch.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
John Jacob Astor
Jefferson
Meriwether Lewis
William Clark
Missouri River
Columbia
Pacific Ocean
Columbia River
St. Louis
Snake
North West Company of Canada
Ocky Mountains
Fort McLeod
Fort St. James
British Columbia
David Thompson
Kootenai House
Nelson
Invermere
Montreal
Nor Westers
American Fur Company
North West Company
Frobishers
McGillivrays
Astor
West
Anon
Pacific Fur Company
Pacific
Russia
United States
Hudson's Bay Company
Beaver Hall
Middle West
Fort William
Forty Ninth Parallel
North Latitude
Kallyspell House
Pend d’Oreille
Rocky Mountains
Rainy Lake House
Fort Frances
Lake of the Woods
Tonquin
New York
Thompson
Torth
Rocky Mountain House
Weil
Saskatchewan
Gap
Big Bear
Saskatchewan River
Athabasca River
Athabasca Pass
Canadian National Railway
Upper
Athabasca
Fort Augustus
Edmonton
Joshua Thompson
D'Eau
Cote
Luscier
L'Amoureux
Vallade
Battoche
Pareil
du Nord
Baptiste
Herald