Fort Colvile, Hudson's Bay Company trading post in Kettle Falls, United States
Fort Colvile was a trading post run by the Hudson's Bay Company on the Columbia River near Kettle Falls, in what is now the state of Washington. The post also farmed the surrounding land, growing wheat, potatoes, and barley to supply other stations across the region.
The Hudson's Bay Company built the post in 1825 to replace Spokane House, an older facility further south, and kept it running until 1871. Over those decades, it grew into one of the main hubs of the fur trade in the Pacific Northwest.
Indigenous peoples had fished the falls for generations before the trading post arrived, and the site became a place where Native and European traders met regularly. Visitors today can find objects and stories from both worlds in nearby museum collections.
The original site is now underwater, so there are no standing structures to visit on location. Nearby museums and visitor centers offer the best way to learn about the post and see related objects.
Before the lake rose, archaeologists managed to excavate a number of objects from the site, rescuing them before they were lost. Those recovered items now form a rare physical record of daily life at a 19th-century trading post.
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