The Portland Penny is the name subsequently given to a specific copper matron head one-cent coin , used to decide the name of Portland, Oregon , United States .
90-438: The City of Portland's two founders, Francis Pettygrove from Portland, Maine and Asa Lovejoy from Boston, Massachusetts , both wanted to name the fledgling site—then known as The Clearing —after their respective home towns. The coin toss was decided in 1845 with two out of three tosses which Pettygrove won. Portland was incorporated in 1851. The coin, minted in 1835, was found in a safe deposit box left behind by Lovejoy and
180-455: A coin toss giving him the right to choose the name. Teamed with Benjamin Stark , who bought Lovejoy's half-interest in the town site in 1845, Pettygrove engaged in a highly profitable three-cornered trade between Portland, San Francisco , and Hawaii . Making money in his stores and warehouses, in trades of lumber, grain, and salted fish, and in real-estate deals, Pettygrove by 1848 was one of
270-465: A "New Discovery" in 1749, and by 1750 was titled Richmond Gulf. The name was changed to Richmond Fort and given the abbreviation RF from 1756 to 1759, it served mainly as a trade goods and provisions storage location. Additional inland posts were Capusco River and Chickney Creek, both circa 1750. Likewise, Brunswick (1776), New Brunswick (1777), Gloucester (1777), Upper Hudson (ca. 1778), Lower Hudson (1779), Rupert, and Wapiscogami Houses were established in
360-475: A blacksmith, laid the town out more compactly than usual on a grid of 16 square blocks, 200 feet (61 m) to a side. They allowed 80-foot (24 m) public rights-of-way for north–south streets, 60-foot (18 m) rights-of-way for east–west streets, and no alleys. The short blocks and small rights-of-way created more corner lots than usual and reduced the amount of stump removal needed to create streets. A proliferation of tree stumps on unbuilt lots prompted
450-599: A boundary treaty dividing the Oregon Country between them, thousands of pioneers entered the Oregon Territory , the part of the Oregon Country ceded to the U.S., most of them settling in the Willamette Valley . Meanwhile, after an apparent disagreement with Pettygrove, Stark returned temporarily to New England , and Pettygrove took control of the entire town site. By 1848, Pettygrove "was one of
540-409: A derisive nickname for the place, Little Stump Town . Lovejoy and Pettygrove, who could not agree on a name for the town, held a best-two-of-three coin toss won by Pettygrove, who named the town after Portland, Maine . Had Lovejoy won, he would have named it after Boston, Massachusetts . The two men cleared trees and debris from the site. Pettygrove built a small log store near the river, hired
630-494: A jury of HBC officials and supporters. During the trial, a crowd of armed Métis men led by Louis Riel Sr. gathered outside the courtroom. Although Sayer was found guilty of illegal trade, having evaded the HBC monopoly, Judge Adam Thom did not levy a fine or punishment. Some accounts attributed that to the intimidating armed crowd gathered outside the courthouse. With the cry, " Le commerce est libre! Le commerce est libre! " ("Trade
720-721: A major remodelling and restoration of retail trade shops planned in 1912. Following the war, the company revitalized its fur-trade and real-estate activities, and diversified its operations by venturing into the oil business. During the Russian Civil War , the company briefly operated in the Siberian far east , even obtaining an agreement with the Soviet government until departing in 1924. The company co-founded Hudson's Bay Oil and Gas Company (HBOG) in 1926 with Marland Oil Company (which merged with Conoco in 1929). Although
810-624: A married couple to run it, and commissioned the building of a wharf . He also acquired a granary and boat landing at Champoeg , site of the Oregon Country's first provisional government. In late 1845, Lovejoy sold his half-interest in the townsite (and his half-interest in a cattle herd he owned jointly with Pettygrove) to Benjamin Stark, who was the agent in charge of merchandise being shipped from Benson & Company, Pettygrove's supplier in New York, to Pettygrove's warehouse in Portland. Stark,
900-750: A merchant's clerk in New York City before a company there sent him by ship in 1842 to Oregon City to open a store. Oregon City was then part of what was known as the Oregon Country, part of the Pacific Northwest . He and his wife, their child, as well as Pettygrove's sister Mary Charlotte Foster, her husband Philip Foster , and their four children, traveling on the Victoria , an A.G. & A.W. Benson vessel, reached their destination in 1843. Stopping first in Vancouver , Pettygrove arranged with
990-603: A month later, the governor and general manager met Banting at the King Edward Hotel to demand a retraction. Banting stated that the reporter had betrayed his confidence, but did not retract his statement and reaffirmed that HBC was responsible for the death of indigenous residents by supplying the wrong kind of food and introducing diseases into the Arctic. As A. Y. Jackson , the Group of Seven painter with whom Banting
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#17327729857061080-485: A one-hundredfold profit for his original $ 50 investment. In 1851, Pettygrove and L.B. Hastings, another businessman, decided to establish a new town on the west side of the entrance to Puget Sound in the U.S. state of Washington. Scouting the area for a likely spot, they met Alfred A. Plummer and Charles Bachelder, who had filed land claims near a bay on the northeastern corner of the Olympic Peninsula . After
1170-619: A rebuilt Fort Langley (1840) on the Lower Fraser to Fort Kamloops by 1850 and the rest of the transportation network to York Factory on the Hudson Bay along with the New Caledonia district fur returns. The Guillaume Sayer trial in 1849 contributed to the end of the HBC monopoly. Guillaume Sayer , a Métis trapper and trader, was accused of illegal trading in furs. The Court of Assiniboia brought Sayer to trial, before
1260-684: A result of the rivalry and were inherently unprofitable. Their combined territory was extended by a licence to the North-Western Territory , which reached to the Arctic Ocean in the north and, with the creation of the Columbia Department in the Pacific Northwest , to the Pacific Ocean in the west. The NWC's regional headquarters at Fort George (Fort Astoria) was relocated to Fort Vancouver by 1825 on
1350-600: A tract just west of the town site. Fiercely competitive, Pettygrove and Stark drove others, including Couch, who had his own store in Oregon City, out of business by monopolizing trade between Portland and Hawaii, charging high rates to import goods for others and raising the price of imported salt to gain control of the salmon trade. In 1847, after the United States and the United Kingdom had negotiated
1440-497: A trading post. The first Fort Langley was subsequently built (1827), establishing an early settlers long lasting presence in current day southern British Columbia. The fur trade in a wet climate turned out to be marginal and quickly evolved into a salmon trade site with abundant supply in the vicinity. The HBC stretched its presence North on the coastline with Fort Simpson (1831) on the Nass River , Fort McLoughlin (1833) and
1530-600: A wagon road on the east side of the Willamette between Portland and Oregon City and a wagon track along an 11.5-mile (18.5 km) route, surveyed by Brown, between Portland and the farmlands of the Tualatin Plains to the west. To increase profits from cattle, Pettygrove built a slaughterhouse along the river and sold hides to Daniel H. Lownsdale , who had opened the first tannery on the Pacific Coast on
1620-546: Is a Canadian retail business group. A fur trading business for much of its existence, it became the largest and oldest corporation in Canada, before evolving into a major fashion retailer, operating retail stores across both the United States and Canada. The company's namesake business division is Hudson's Bay , commonly referred to as The Bay ( La Baie in French). After incorporation by English royal charter in 1670,
1710-677: Is free! Trade is free!"), the Métis loosened the HBC's previous control of the courts, which had enforced their monopoly on the settlers of Red River. Another factor was the findings of the Palliser Expedition of 1857 to 1860, led by Captain John Palliser . He surveyed the area of the prairies and wilderness from Lake Superior to the southern passes of the Rocky Mountains. Although he recommended against settlement of
1800-592: Is now on display in the Oregon Historical Society Museum . Multiple versions of the coin-toss location have been proposed. It is agreed that the event happened in an Oregon City home in 1845. But the exact home was never explicitly stated at the time. Most historians believe the coin toss occurred in the Francis Ermatinger House , the home of Hudson's Bay Company Chief Trader Francis Ermatinger . Because of this and
1890-713: The Alaska Panhandle by present-day Wrangell . The RAC-HBC agreement (1839) with the Russian American Company (RAC) provided for such a continuing presence in exchange for the HBC to supply the Russian coastal sites with agricultural products. The Puget Sound Agricultural Company subsidiary was created to supply grain, dairy, livestock and manufactured goods out of Fort Vancouver, Fort Nisqually, Fort Cowlitz and Fort Langley in present-day southern British Columbia. The company's stranglehold on
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#17327729857061980-571: The American Revolutionary War , a French squadron under Jean-François de Galaup, comte de Lapérouse captured and demolished York Factory and Prince of Wales Fort in support of the American rebels. In its trade with native peoples, Hudson's Bay Company exchanged wool blankets, called Hudson's Bay point blankets, for the beaver pelts trapped by aboriginal hunters. By 1700, point blankets accounted for more than 60 percent of
2070-679: The Beaver (1836), the first steamship to ever roam the Pacific Northwest for resupplying its coastline sites. The HBC was securing a trading monopoly on the coastline keeping away independent American traders: "By 1837, American competition on the North West Coast was effectively over". The HBC gained more control of the fur trade with both the coastline and inland tribes to access the fur rich New Caledonia district in current day northern British Columbia: "monopoly control of
2160-619: The Cayuse War . Lovejoy and Pettygrove used a copper Matron Head penny, dated 1835, in their coin flip to determine Portland's name . Pettygrove bequeathed this penny to the Oregon Historical Society in his will. Pettygrove Park , an 0.8-acre (0.32 ha) tract in downtown Portland, is named for him. It is one of two nearly adjacent parks developed in the 1960s in an urban renewal area. The same coin that Lovejoy and Pettygrove flipped to decide who should name
2250-590: The Deed of Surrender , authorized by the Rupert's Land Act 1868 . At its peak, the company controlled the fur trade throughout much of the English- and later British-controlled North America . By the mid-19th century, the company evolved into a mercantile business selling a wide variety of products from furs to fine homeware in a small number of sales shops (as opposed to trading posts ) across Canada. These shops were
2340-603: The Fraser River . The three boats 40some crew led by the James McMillan were first to officially ever make it to Puget Sound from the continent, to reach its northern end into Boundary Bay and to bypass the mouth of the Fraser. They shortcut through two mainland rivers and a portage in order to finally reach the lower Fraser. Friendly tribes were identified along with subsistence farming land suitable for sustaining
2430-519: The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) for a schooner to take his store goods up the Willamette River to Oregon City. There Pettygrove established the agreed-upon store in partnership with George Abernethy . After building a warehouse in Oregon City, Pettygrove began trading in fur and wheat. In 1843, Pettygrove paid $ 50 for 320-acre (1.3 km ) of land owned by William Overton . The tract
2520-545: The Netherlands , were sold by the end of 2019. Until March 2020, the company was listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol "HBC.TO" until Richard Baker and a group of shareholders took the company private. HBC is, as of 2022, the majority owner of eCommerce companies Saks Fifth Avenue and Saks Off 5th , both established as separate operating companies in 2021. HBC wholly owns SFA,
2610-677: The Nonsuch , commanded by Captain Zachariah Gillam , while the Eaglet was commanded by Captain William Stannard and accompanied by Radisson. On 5 June 1668, both ships left port at Deptford , England, but the Eaglet was forced to turn back off the coast of Ireland. The Nonsuch continued to James Bay , the southern portion of Hudson Bay, where its explorers founded, in 1668, the first fort on Hudson Bay, Charles Fort at
2700-837: The North-West Territories , was brought under Canadian jurisdiction under the terms of the Rupert's Land Act 1868 , enacted by the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The Deed enabled the admission of the fifth province, Manitoba , to the Confederation on 15 July 1870, the same day that the deed itself came into force. During the 19th century the Hudson's Bay Company went through great changes in response to such factors as growth of population and new settlements in part of its territory, and ongoing pressure from Britain. It seemed unlikely that it would continue to control
2790-682: The Siskiyou Trail , into Northern California as far south as the San Francisco Bay Area , where the company operated a trading post at Yerba Buena ( San Francisco ). The southern-most camp of the company was French Camp , east of San Francisco in the Central Valley adjacent to the future site of the city of Stockton . These trapping brigades in Northern California faced serious risks, and were often
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2880-465: The coureurs des bois permission to scout the distant territory". Despite this refusal, in 1659 Radisson and Groseilliers set out for the upper Great Lakes basin. A year later they returned to Montreal with premium furs, evidence of the potential of the Hudson Bay region. Subsequently, they were arrested by French authorities for trading without a licence and fined, and their furs were confiscated by
2970-665: The supercargo (cargo supervisor), arrived in Portland on Captain Nathaniel Crosby's Toulon . The three men then arranged to have Stark act as Pettygrove's supercargo on the Toulon , trading lumber, wheat, salted fish, and other goods between San Francisco, Honolulu , and Portland. Adding a second ship, the Mariposa , for a short time they controlled much of the trade in and out of Oregon. The two men engaged in projects by land as well as sea. Among these were construction of
3060-688: The 17th century, the French colonists in North America, based in New France , operated a de facto monopoly in the North American fur trade . Two French traders, Pierre-Esprit Radisson and Médard des Groseilliers (Médard de Chouart, Sieur des Groseilliers), Radisson's brother-in-law, learned from the Cree that the best fur country lay north and west of Lake Superior , and that there
3150-595: The 1818 Treaty settled the 49th degree parallel border only as far as the Rocky Mountains , the HBC was looking for a site further West in case the parallel border would become further extended at the end of the 10 years joint occupancy term. By 1824, the HBC was commissioning an expedition to travel from the Fort George regional headquarter on the southern shore of the Columbia River all the way to
3240-592: The American Fort Hall , 483 km (300 mi) to the east. In 1837, it purchased Fort Hall, also along the route of the Oregon Trail . The outpost director displayed the abandoned wagons of discouraged settlers to those seeking to move west along the trail. HBC trappers were also deeply involved in the early exploration and development of Northern California . Company trapping brigades were sent south from Fort Vancouver, along what became known as
3330-709: The Columbia River replaced Spokane House in 1825. Fort Umpqua was established in 1832 in present-day southern Oregon after the Willamette River had been explored up toward its headwaters by mainly the NWC. Nisqually House was built during the same year to establish a presence further North on Puget Sound in present-day State of Washington , resulting in Fort Nisqually a few years later closer to present-day Canadian sites. The HBC established Fort Boise in 1834 (in present-day southwestern Idaho) to compete with
3420-546: The East India Company in 1732, which it viewed as a major competitor. Hudson's Bay Company's first inland trading post was established by Samuel Hearne in 1774 with Cumberland House, Saskatchewan . Conversely, a number of inland HBC "houses" pre-date the construction of Cumberland House, in 1774. Henley House, established in 1743, inland from Hudson Bay, at the confluence of the Albany and Kabinakagami Rivers,
3510-497: The HBC controlled nearly all trading operations in the Pacific Northwest region and was based at its headquarters at Fort Vancouver, on the Columbia River . Although claims to the region were by agreement in abeyance, commercial operating rights were nominally shared by the United States and Britain through the Anglo-American Convention of 1818 , but company policy, enforced via Chief Factor John McLoughlin of
3600-529: The HBC paddle wheeler Distributor were responsible for spreading the influenza virus down the Slave River and Mackenzie River . Less than a decade after the 1918 global flu pandemic , a similar virus spread territory-wide over the summer and autumn, devastating the aboriginal population of the north. Returning from the trip, Banting gave an interview in Montreal with a Toronto Star reporter under
3690-399: The HBC. It became operative for the outfit of 1780 and was the first joint-stock company in Canada and possibly North America. The agreement lasted one year. A second agreement established in 1780 had a three-year term. The company became a permanent entity in 1783. By 1784, the NWC had begun to make serious inroads into the HBC's profits. The North West Company (NWC) was the main rival in
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3780-617: The Royal Navy in the Battle of Hudson's Bay (5 September 1697), the largest naval battle in the history of the North American Arctic. D'Iberville's depleted French force captured York Factory by laying siege to the fort and pretending to be a much larger army. The French retained all of the outposts except Fort Albany until 1713. A small French and Indian force attacked Fort Albany again in 1709 during Queen Anne's War but
3870-549: The West. The Society floated £2 million in public shares on non-ceded land held ostensibly by the Hudson's Bay Company as an asset and leveraged this asset for collateral for these funds. These funds allowed the Society the financial means to weather the financial collapse of 1866 which destroyed many competitors and invest in railways in North America. In 1869, after rejecting the American government offer of CA$ 10 million,
3960-551: The agreement that his statements on HBC would remain off the record. The newspaper nonetheless published the conversation, which rapidly reached a wide audience across Europe and Australia. Banting was angry at the leak, having promised the Department of the Interior not to make any statements to the press prior to clearing them. The article noted that Banting had given the journalist C. R. Greenaway repeated instances of how
4050-468: The area of modern-day Canada, and stretches into the present-day north-central United States . The specific boundaries remained unknown at the time. Rupert's Land would eventually become Canada's largest land "purchase" in the 19th century. The HBC established six posts between 1668 and 1717. Rupert House (1668, southeast), Moose Factory (1673, south) and Fort Albany, Ontario (1679, west) were erected on James Bay; three other posts were established on
4140-437: The city was flipped to decide which park would be Lovejoy and which would be Pettygrove. Lovejoy Fountain Park, which features water cascades, is about 300 yards (270 m) from Pettygrove Park, which features grass mounds, trees, paths, and stonework. Pettygrove Street in northwest Portland is also named for him. Hudson%27s Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company ( HBC ; French : Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson )
4230-461: The coastal fur trade allowed the HBC to impose a uniform tariff on both sides of the Coast Mountains". By 1843, under pressure from the Americans to withdraw further North with the looming Oregon Treaty border negotiation finalized in 1846, and strong of its coastal presence on the northern coast, HBC built Fort Victoria at the southern end of present-day Vancouver Island in southern BC. A well sheltered ocean port with agricultural potential in
4320-421: The company a monopoly over the region drained by all rivers and streams flowing into Hudson Bay in northern parts of present-day Canada, taking possession on behalf of England. The area was named " Rupert's Land " after Prince Rupert, the first governor of the company appointed by the King. This drainage basin of Hudson Bay spans 3,861,400 square kilometres (1,490,900 sq mi), comprising over one-third of
4410-442: The company approved the return of Rupert's Land to Britain. The government gave it to Canada and loaned the new country the £300,000 required to compensate HBC for its losses. HBC also received one-twentieth of the fertile areas to be opened for settlement and retained title to the lands on which it had built trading establishments. The deal, known as the Deed of Surrender , came into force the following year. The resulting territory,
4500-400: The company diversified into a number of areas, its department store business is the only remaining part of the company's operations, in the form of department stores under the Hudson's Bay brand. The company also established new trading posts in the Canadian Arctic. The medical scientist Frederick Banting was travelling in the Arctic in 1927 when he realized that crew or passengers on board
4590-412: The company was granted a right of "sole trade and commerce" over an expansive area of land known as Rupert's Land , comprising much of the Hudson Bay drainage basin . This right effectively gave the company a commercial monopoly over that area. The HBC functioned as the de facto government in Rupert's Land for nearly 200 years until the HBC relinquished control of the land to Canada in 1869 as part of
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#17327729857064680-440: The company's Columbia District , was to discourage U.S. settlement of the territory. The company's effective monopoly on trade virtually forbade any settlement in the region. Over and above the NWC Fort George headquarters site, the HBC carried on the early presence in the region of the NWC when it merged in 1821 with noteworthy sites: Spokane House , Fort Okanogan and Fort Nez Percés . Fort Colville located further North on
4770-399: The company's profits during the monopoly years. Its trade covered 7,770,000 km (3,000,000 sq mi), and it had 1,500 contract employees. Between 1820 and 1870, the HBC issued its own paper money . The notes, denominated in sterling, were printed in London and issued at York Factory for circulation primarily in the Red River Colony . Although the HBC maintained a monopoly on
4860-428: The conflict played out in North America as well. D'Iberville raided Fort Severn in 1690 but did not attempt to raid the well-defended local headquarters at York Factory. In 1693 the HBC recovered Fort Albany ; d'Iberville captured York Factory in 1694, but the company recovered it the next year. In 1697, d'Iberville again commanded a French naval raid on York Factory. On the way to the fort he defeated three ships of
4950-442: The decade of the 1770s. These post-date Cumberland House, yet speak to the expanding inland incursion of the HBC in the last quarter of the 18th century. Minor posts also during this time period include Mesackamy/Mesagami Lake (1777), Sturgeon Lake (1778), Beaver Lake Posts. In 1779, other traders founded the North West Company (NWC) in Montreal as a seasonal partnership to provide more capital and to continue competing with
5040-653: The entity that operates Saks Fifth Avenue's physical locations; O5, the operating company for Saks Off 5th stores; The Bay, an eCommerce marketplace and Hudson's Bay, the operating company for Hudson's Bay's brick-and-mortar stores. In July 2024, HBC announced that it would acquire the Neiman Marcus Group for US$ 2.65 billion and fold it into the new flagship entity Saks Fifth Avenue Global. HBC owns or controls approximately 3.7 million square metres (40 million square feet) of gross leasable real estate through its real estate and investment arm, HBC Properties and Investments, established in October 2020. For much of
5130-460: The expedition and brought the two to England to raise financing. Radisson and Groseilliers arrived in London in 1665 at the height of the Great Plague . Eventually, the two met and gained the sponsorship of Prince Rupert . Prince Rupert introduced the two to his cousin, the reigning king – Charles II . In 1668 the English expedition acquired two ships, the Nonsuch and the Eaglet , to explore possible trade into Hudson Bay. Groseilliers sailed on
5220-423: The fact that the Ermatinger House is the only remaining house of that early period, it is the site officially used to celebrate the event. Some also theorize that the coin toss occurred in the house of Judge Albert E. Wilson . This Oregon -related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Francis Pettygrove Francis William Pettygrove ( c. 1812 – October 5, 1887)
5310-404: The fall and winter, First Nations men and European fur trappers accomplished the vast majority of the animal trapping and pelt preparation. They travelled by canoe and on foot to the forts to sell their pelts. In exchange they typically received popular trade-goods such as knives, kettles, beads, needles, and the Hudson's Bay point blanket . The arrival of the First Nations trappers was one of
5400-429: The first cargo of fur resulting from trade in Hudson Bay. The bulk of the fur – worth £1,233 – was sold to Thomas Glover, one of London's most prominent furriers. This and subsequent purchases by Glover proved the viability of the fur trade in Hudson Bay. A royal charter from King Charles II incorporated "The Governor and Company of Adventurers of England, trading into Hudson's Bay" on 2 May 1670. The charter granted
5490-646: The first step towards the department stores the company owns today. In 2006, Jerry Zucker , an American businessman, bought HBC for US$ 1.1 billion. In 2008, HBC was acquired by NRDC Equity Partners , which also owned the upmarket American department store Lord & Taylor . From 2008 to 2012, the HBC was run through a holding company of NRDC, Hudson's Bay Trading Company , which was dissolved in early 2012. HBC's U.S. headquarters are in Lower Manhattan , New York City, while its Canadian headquarters are in Toronto . The company spun off most of its European operations by August 2019 and its remaining stores there, in
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#17327729857065580-448: The first to explore relatively uncharted territory. They included the lesser known Peter Skene Ogden and Samuel Black . The HBC also operated a store in what were then known as the Sandwich Islands (now the Hawaiian Islands ), engaging in merchant shipping to the islands between 1828 and 1859. Extending the presence it had built in present-day British Columbia northern coast, the HBC reached by 1838 as far North as Fort Stikine in
5670-418: The four agreed to found a city on this site, Pettygrove and Hastings returned to Oregon for their families and other settlers and returned to what became Port Townsend. Pettygrove died there in 1887 and is buried in Laurel Grove Cemetery. Pettygrove married Sophia Roland in 1842. By 1845 they had two children, the first of whom had been born in the Sandwich Islands ( Hawaiian Islands ), where they stopped on
5760-518: The fox fur trade always favoured the company: "For over $ 100,000 of fox skins, he estimated that the Eskimos had not received $ 5,000 worth of goods." He traced this treatment to health, consistent with reports made in previous years by RCMP officers, suggesting that "the result was a diet of 'flour, sea-biscuits , tea and tobacco,' with the skins that once were used for clothing traded merely for 'cheap whiteman's goods. ' " The HBC fur trade commissioner called Banting's remarks "false and slanderous", and
5850-405: The fur trade during the early to mid-19th century, there was competition from James Sinclair and Andrew McDermot (Dermott), independent traders in the Red River Colony. They shipped furs by the Red River Trails to Norman Kittson , a buyer in the United States. In addition, Americans controlled the maritime fur trade on the Northwest Coast until the 1830s. Throughout the 1820s and the 1830s,
5940-429: The fur trade. The competition led to the small Pemmican War in 1816. The Battle of Seven Oaks on 19 June 1816 was the climax of the long dispute. In 1821, the North West Company of Montreal and Hudson's Bay Company were forcibly merged by intervention of the British government to put an end to often-violent competition. 175 posts, 68 of them the HBC's, were reduced to 52 for efficiency and because many were redundant as
6030-419: The future of the West. The iconic department store today evolved from trading posts at the start of the 19th century, when they began to see demand for general merchandise grow rapidly. HBC soon expanded into the interior and set-up posts along river settlements that later developed into the modern cities of Winnipeg, Calgary and Edmonton . In 1857, the first sales shop was established in Fort Langley . This
6120-412: The government. Determined to establish trade in the Hudson Bay area, Radisson and Groseilliers approached a group of English colonial merchants in Boston to help finance their explorations. The Bostonians agreed on the plan's merits, but their speculative voyage in 1663 failed when their ship ran into pack ice in Hudson Strait . Boston-based English commissioner Colonel George Cartwright learned of
6210-510: The high points of the year, met with pomp and circumstance. The highlight was very formal, an almost ritualized "Trading Ceremony" between the Chief Trader and the Captain of the aboriginal contingent who traded on their behalf. During the initial years of the fur trade, prices for items varied from post to post. The early coastal factory model of the English contrasted with the system of the French, who established an extensive system of inland posts at native villages and sent traders to live among
6300-536: The manner of the Dutch fur-trading operations in New Netherland . By adoption of the Standard of Trade in the 18th century, the HBC ensured consistent pricing throughout Rupert's Land. A means of exchange arose based on the " Made Beaver " (MB); a prime pelt, worn for a year and ready for processing: "the prices of all trade goods were set in values of Made Beaver (MB) with other animal pelts, such as squirrel, otter and moose quoted in their MB (made beaver) equivalents. For example, two otter pelts might equal 1 MB". During
6390-447: The mouth of the Rupert River . It later became known as "Rupert House", and developed as the community of present-day Waskaganish , Quebec. Both the fort and the river were named after the sponsor of the expedition, Prince Rupert of the Rhine, one of the major investors and soon to become the new company's first governor. After a successful trading expedition over the winter of 1668–69, Nonsuch returned to England on 9 October 1669 with
6480-550: The north bank of the Columbia River; it became the HBC base of operations on the Pacific Slope. Before the merger, the employees of the HBC, unlike those of the North West Company, did not participate in its profits. After the merger, with all operations under the management of Sir George Simpson (1826–60), the company had a corps of commissioned officers: 25 chief factors and 28 chief traders, who shared in
6570-458: The region was broken by the first successful large wagon train to reach Oregon in 1843 , led by Marcus Whitman . In the years that followed, thousands of emigrants poured into the Willamette Valley of Oregon. In 1846, the United States acquired full authority south of the 49th parallel ; the most settled areas of the Oregon Country were south of the Columbia River in what is now Oregon. McLoughlin, who had once turned away would-be settlers when he
6660-567: The region, the report sparked a debate. It ended the myth publicized by Hudson's Bay Company: that the Canadian West was unfit for agricultural settlement. In 1863, the International Financial Society bought controlling interest in the HBC, signalling a shift in the company's outlook: most of the new shareholders were less interested in the fur trade than in real estate speculation and economic development in
6750-540: The richest men in the Oregon Territory . When the California Gold Rush drew potential laborers from Oregon and threatened Pettygrove's short-term prospects, he sold his assets in Portland and vicinity. In 1851 he joined with others to start a new town, Port Townsend, on Puget Sound in what became the U.S. state of Washington . He died at the age of 75 and was buried in Port Townsend. Pettygrove
6840-506: The trade. The number of indigo stripes (a.k.a. points) woven into the blankets identified its finished size. A long-held misconception is that the number of stripes was related to its value in beaver pelts. A parallel may be drawn between the HBC's control over Rupert's Land with the trade monopoly and government functions enjoyed by the East India Company over India during roughly the same period. The HBC invested £10,000 in
6930-399: The treaty's many provisions, it required France to relinquish all claims to Great Britain on the Hudson Bay, which again became a British possession. (The Kingdom of Great Britain had been established following the union of Scotland and England in 1707). After the treaty, the HBC built Prince of Wales Fort , a stone star fort at the mouth of the nearby Churchill River . In 1782, during
7020-644: The tribes of the region, learning their languages and often forming alliances through marriages with indigenous women. In March 1686 the French sent a raiding party under the Chevalier des Troyes more than 1,300 km (810 mi) to capture the HBC posts along James Bay. The French appointed Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville , who had shown great heroism during the raids, as commander of the company's captured posts. In 1687 an English attempt to resettle Fort Albany failed due to strategic deceptions by d'Iberville. After 1688 England and France were officially at war , and
7110-481: The vicinity would allow the new regional headquarter to further develop the trade on salmon, timber and cranberries. Trade via the Hawaiian post was also increasing. The Fort Rupert (1849) at the northern end of the island would open up access to coal fields. On the continent mainland, Fort Hope and Fort Yale (1848) were built to extend the HBC presence on the Fraser River as far as navigable. Brigades would link
7200-581: The way to Oregon. The second child, named Benjamin Stark Pettygrove, was the first boy of European descent born in Portland. Pettygrove was a member of the Pioneer Lyceum and Literary Club in Oregon City. In May 1850, he was the jury foreman in the Oregon City trial and subsequent hanging of five men from the Cayuse tribe of Native Americans who were accused of murder committed during
7290-454: The wealthiest residents of the territory". During that year, the California Gold Rush attracted so many men from Oregon that it caused an Oregon labor shortage. Seeing little hope of further short-term growth in Portland, Pettygrove began selling his assets. While Stark was out of town, Pettygrove sold the entire 640-acre (260 ha) townsite, including Stark's share, to Daniel H. Lownsdale for $ 5,000 worth of leather. This netted Pettygrove
7380-520: The western shore of Hudson Bay proper: New Severn (1685), York Factory (1684), and Fort Churchill (1717). Inland posts were not built until 1774. After 1774, York Factory became the main post because of its convenient access to the vast interior waterway-systems of the Saskatchewan and Red rivers. Originally called "factories" because the "factor" , i.e., a person acting as a mercantile agent, did business from there, these posts operated in
7470-534: Was a "frozen sea" still further north. Assuming this was Hudson Bay, they sought French backing for a plan to set up a trading post on the Bay in order to reduce the cost of moving furs overland. According to Peter C. Newman , "concerned that exploration of the Hudson Bay route might shift the focus of the fur trade away from the St. Lawrence River , the French governor", Marquis d'Argenson (in office 1658–61), "refused to grant
7560-494: Was along the Willamette River in a place known as The Clearing, 12 miles (19 km) downstream of Oregon City. Pettygrove and Asa Lovejoy , who owned adjoining land, decided to create a town on part of the site. Strongly encouraged by John Couch , a sea captain who considered The Clearing a good site for a river port, they hired Thomas A. Brown in 1845 to plat the town. Brown and his assistant, James Terwilliger ,
7650-679: Was an American pioneer and merchant who was one of the founders of the cities of Portland, Oregon , and Port Townsend, Washington . Born in Maine , he re-located to the Oregon Country in 1843 to establish a store in Oregon City . Later that year he paid $ 50 for half of a land claim on which he and Asa Lovejoy laid out a town named Portland after the port city in Pettygrove's home state. Lovejoy preferred Boston , but Pettygrove won
7740-409: Was company director, then welcomed them from his general store at Oregon City . He later became known as the "Father of Oregon". The HBC also carried on the early presence in the region of the NWC in present-day central and northern British Columbia with noteworthy sites: Fort Alexandria , Fort d'Épinette (Fort St. John) , Fort St. James , Fort George and Fort Shuswap (Fort Kamloops) . Since
7830-399: Was dependent on Albany River – Fort Albany for lines of communication, was not "finished" until 1768. Next, the inland houses of Split Lake and Nelson Houses were established between 1740 and 1760. These were dependent on York River – York Factory and Churchill River, respectively. Although not inland, Richmond Fort was established in 1749. This was on an island within Hudson Bay. It was titled
7920-589: Was followed by other sales shops in Fort Victoria (1859), Winnipeg (1881), Calgary (1884), Vancouver (1887), Vernon (1887), Edmonton (1890), Yorkton (1898), and Nelson (1902). The first of the grand "original six" department stores was built in Calgary in 1913. The other department stores that followed were in Edmonton, Vancouver, Victoria, Saskatoon , and Winnipeg. The First World War interrupted
8010-624: Was married to Sophia Roland, with whom he had at least two children, one of whom was named after Benjamin Stark. While living in Oregon, he belonged to the Pioneer Lyceum and Literary Club of Oregon City and served as jury foreman in a trial there related to the Cayuse War . Pettygrove Park in southwest Portland and Pettygrove Street in northwest Portland are named after him. Pettygrove was born in Calais, Maine . Educated in Maine schools, he worked as
8100-640: Was unsuccessful. The economic consequences of the French possession of these posts for the company were significant; the HBC did not pay any dividends for more than 20 years. See Anglo-French conflicts on Hudson Bay . With the ending of the Nine Years' War in 1697, and the War of the Spanish Succession in 1713 with the signing of the Treaty of Utrecht , France had made substantial concessions. Among
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