Fort Astoria
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Fort Astoria was the primary fur trading post of John Jacob Astor's Pacific Fur Company (PFC). A maritime contingent of PFC staff was sent on board the Tonquin, while another party traveled overland from St. Louis. This land based group later became known as the Astor Expedition. Built at the entrance of the Columbia River in 1811, Fort Astoria was the first American-owned settlement on the Pacific coast of North America.
The trading post as it was in 1813.
The layout of Fort Astoria in 1811.
Comcomly's mercantile skills as an intermediary gained him significant profits in deals with Fort Astoria. In particular he controlled the sale of many of the pelts originating from the Chinookan, Chehalis and Quinault nations.
A watercolor painting of Fort George in 1845.
John Jacob Astor
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John Jacob Astor was a German-born American businessman, merchant, real estate mogul, and investor. Astor made his fortune mainly in a fur trade monopoly, by exporting opium into China, and by investing in real estate in or around New York City. He was the first prominent member of the Astor family and the first multi-millionaire in the United States.
John Jacob Astor portrait by John Wesley Jarvis, c. 1825
John Jacob Astor, by Gilbert Stuart, c. 1794
Sarah Cox Todd