Fort Connah Trading Post
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We have a real historic treasure in our valley. It is the historic Fort Connah Trading Post. It sits east of highway 93, about halfway between St. Ignatius and Ronan. It is a small log building out in the field and is surrounded by two other small log structures. Post Creek gets its name because the trading post was established near its bank.
The British-owned Hudson Bay Company established the post to do trading with the Indians of what is now known as western Montana, north Idaho, and eastern Washington. The Indians were mainly Salish, Pend Oreilles, Kalispells and Kootenais.
The post was started by Neil MacArthur and completed in 1847 by Angus McDonald. McDonald was a young scot in his ninth year of service to the Hudson Bay Company. He operated the trading post for its first five years. He then supervised the operation of it from Fort Colville in Washington. The company purchased braided rope that was made from sinew from the buffalo and hair from the buffalo’s neck and tail. The purchases were made with trade goods. Favorite trade goods for the Indians were blankets, knives, hatchets, cooking utensils, beads, guns and ammunition.
The post operated for 23 years under several different traders. The last post director was Duncan McDonald, Angus’ son. The post was closed under the direction of Duncan. It was closed shortly after the area was settled as U.S. territory, and not British territory.
The post had the title “Fort,” which was the name the Hudson Bay Company used for marketing. It was never a military post and was never surrounded by a stockade. It consisted of two dwelling houses, 25 by 15 feet, a storehouse of 30 by 15 feet, and a horse yard of 80 by 80 feet.
The fact that Fort Connah was the first building in our area and the first commercial business in our area makes the fort truly historically significant. One of the original buildings still stands, and is probably the oldest standing original structure in Montana. The logs making up the walls are 167 years old.
Saturday and Sunday, May 3 and 4, an open house and rendezvous will be held at the Fort. A small group of people dedicated to the preservation of the fort and dedicated to portraying the life and importance of the early fur traders will be the hosts. They make up the Fort Connah Historical Society. The public is invited to visit the post and partake in the activities. Volunteers will be on hand to talk about the history of the fort and fur trade. They will also host rendezvous games, and portray frontier lifestyle and post activity.
Joe McDonald is the Chair of the Fort Connah Restoration Society.
