Territorial Timeline

Fort Nisqually, the first trading post on Puget Sound, founded by the Hudson's Bay Company

By 1832 the Hudson's Bay Company recognized the need for a trading post midway between Fort Vancouver and their trading posts on the Fraser River. Fort Nisqually became one of the Company's most successful posts and was the first permanent white settlement on Puget Sound.

Archibald McDonald, one of the Hudson's Bay Company traders, picked Nisqually Bay as a suitable site for a trading post and in 1833 he established Nisqually House. The fort expanded to include a farm and a cattle and sheep ranch. In 1839 Fort Nisqually and the Hudson's Bay Company farms at Cowlitz Prairie were incorporated as the Puget Sound Agricultural Company. By 1841 the fort was selling beef, butter and cheese to the Russian settlements in Alaska.


Archibald McDonald, one of the Hudson's Bay Company traders, picked Nisqually Bay as a suitable site for a trading post and in 1833 he established Nisqually House. Soon the fort was expanded to include a farm and a cattle and sheep ranch. In 1839 Fort Nisqually and the Hudson's Bay Company farms at Cowlitz Prairie were incorporated as the Puget Sound Agricultural Company. By 1841 the fort was selling beef, butter and cheese to the Russian settlements in Alaska.