Pierre Chouteau, Jr. and Company, a St. Louis, Missouri-based fur trading company, was formed through the purchase of the assets of the American Fur Company's Western Department, in 1834 by Bernard Pratte and Pierre Chouteau, Jr. The new firm operated as Pratte, Chouteau and Company, but in 1838, Pratte retired, Chouteau gained control and the firm operated for the remainder of its existence under his name. The firm, however, continued to be known as the American Fur Company throughout its operation. The Chouteau Company's Upper Missouri Outfit was the major American trading company in the Northwest from its inception to the end of the fur trade era in the 1860s, with periodic competition from other short-lived companies. The monopoly enjoyed by the Company from the mid-1830s was gained primarily by the combined use of light-draft steamboats and an illegal distillery at Fort Union. Some of the Chouteau Company's more well known partners and employees included: Alexander Culbertson, Andrew Dawson, Malcolm Clarke, Kenneth McKenzie, Alexander Harvey, and Louis Rivit.
Included in this collection are items representing the operations of several of Chouteau's predecessor companies as well as records of the later firm. Of particular note is a letter from Pierre Menard to Pierre Chouteau (April 21, 1810), written from the Three Forks of the Missouri, describing an attack on Menard's party by a group of Blackfeet. The two journals in the collection were kept by employees of the Choteau Company while operating from posts in what is now Montana. The Fort Benton journal (September 28, 1854 - November 30, 1856) was primarily kept by Andrew Dawson (1818-1871), but also by Alexander Rose, during May-October, 1856. The entries detail daily life and trading at Fort Benton, the Company's primary post for trade with the Blackfeet tribes at the head of navigation on the Missouri River. The James Chambers journal (January 1855-August 1856) reflects primarily the activity at Fort Sarpy, principal company post for fur trade with the Crows, but also includes entries from Fort Union and Fort Benton. Chambers' journal is also a detailed description of the life of the traders of the era. With the original journals are various transcripts, notes, indices, and miscellany, produced when the volumes were edited for publication in Vol. X (1940) of Contributions to the Historical Society of Montana, done by Society Library staff members John B. Ritchie and Anne McDonnell. Also included are copies of correspondence by chief agents at Fort Union for the American Fur Company (1834-1835) and post inventories representing operations of the Chouteau firm. All of the copies in this group come from the collections of the Missouri Historical Society.
This collection is arranged into six series: Incoming Correspondence (1810); General Correspondence (1834-1861); Financial Records (1850-1864); Legal Documents (1862); Writings (1854-1856); and Miscellany (1939-1940, undated). Some material in the Financial series has been moved to the oversize map case. See container list for items.
Collection open for research.
Researchers must use collection in accordance with the policies of the Montana Historical Society Library & Archives. The Library & Archives does not necessarily hold copyright to all materials in the collection. In some cases permission for use may require additional authorization from the copyright owners. For more information contact an archivist.
Item description and date. Collection Title. Collection Number. Box and Folder numbers. Montana Historical Society Library & Archives. Helena, Montana.
Acquisition information available upon request.
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the Montana Historical Society Archives catalog. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or places should search under these terms.
The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection