Fort Okanogan was founded as an American outpost by John Jacob Astor’s Pacific Fur Company in 1811 at the confluence of the Okanogan and Columbia Rivers. John Jacob Astor, detail of an oil painting by Gilbert Stuart, 1794 John Jacob (originally Johann Jakob) Astor (July 17, 1763 - March 29, 1848) was the first of the Astor family dynasty and the first millionaire in the United States, making his fortune in the fur trade and real estate... The Pacific Fur Company was founded by John Jacob Astor on June 23, 1810, as a subsidiary of his American Fur Company. ... The Okanogan River (called the Okanagan River in its upper reaches in Canada) is a tributary of the Columbia River, approximately 115 mi (185 km) long, in southern British Columbia in Canada and north central Washington in the United States. ... Columbia River Gorge, Washington or North side The Columbia River (French: fleuve Columbia) is a river situated in British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest of the United States. ...
In 1821, the Hudson Bay Company purchased the fort. The Hudsons Bay Company building in Montreal The Hudsons Bay Company (HBC) is the oldest corporation in Canada and is one of the oldest in the world still in existence. ...
The historic town of Okanogan is the county seat of Okanogan County and the gateway to north central Washington, and southern British Columbia, Canada.
The Okanogans led a semi-nomadic existence, starting in permanent camps through the winter, then leaving to hunt bears in the spring, catch salmon in the summer, and hunt deer in the autumn.
FortOkanogan was taken over by the North West Co. in 1814, which sold it to the Hudson's Bay Company in 1821.
FortOkanogan was the first American outpost in what is now the state of Washington.
Despite the lucrative trade at FortOkanogan, the Pacific Fur Company faced numerous financial and personnel problems, all of which were exacerbated by the beginning of war between the United States and Britain in 1812.
FortOkanogan State Park today includes a day-use area and interpretive center overlooking the reservoir, called Lake Pateros after the name of a nearby town.
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