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TRADING POST
Trading Posts were one of the cornerstones that drove the fur trade and subsequent exploration of North America. Local
Indian tribes were eager to acquire metal goods, knives, axes, pots and
pans, and the such, initiated trade with the fishermen. Their chief
product to trade was furs, which the fishermen eagerly bought back to
France and England.
Once the Westward Expansion began, much needed materials were required
to survive the wilderness. Trading Post's along the way was a
very important part of the American West.
Jim Bridger's Trading Post, Nebraska
JOHN SUTTER
John
Sutter was a Swiss immigrant who received a land grant in the
Sacramento Valley from the Mexican government. He used the land to
create a supply fort, "Sutter's Fort," for the expected immigrants from
the East. He never realized that in 1848, gold was discovered just a
few short miles from the fort on the American River by James Marshall.
John Sutter also created a flourishing agricultural empire. This was
California's earliest settlement and the first non- Indian settlement.
JIM BRIDGER
James
Bridger was one of the greatest frontiersmen of Utah and the American
West. During his lifetime he was a hunter, trapper, trader, Indian
fighter and guide and one of only a few trappers to remain in the
Rocky Mountains. His first trading post was on the plains of Nebraska.
He provided meat and supplies to various travelers, especially the
Mormons on their journey to their new home on the Great Salt Lake,
Utah.
