Hudson's Bay Company

Hudson's Bay Company. . In contrast with the industrial Frenchtowns of New England, western Frenchtowns were a by-product of the fur trade, established by former employees of the North West Company (NMC) and the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC). Upon retirement (or termination) from the companies, these French-Canadian men and their Native American or Métis (mixed French-Canadian and Native American) wives often settled near trading posts, such as the Willamette Trading Post in Oregon and Fort Walla Walla here in the valley. The first Frenchtown cabin was likely built in 1823 by former NWC and HBC employee Joseph LaRocque and his wife Lisette Walla Walla. , Fort Nez Perce was established by the North West Company in 1818 at Wallula Gap, on the south bank of the Columbia River near the mouths of the Snake and Walla Walla Rivers. In 1821, the Hudson's Bay Company took possession and eventually renamed it Fort Walla Walla. , The principal charge of the HBC Fort Walla Walla was not fur. Rather, they supplied horses for the Okanagan-Fraser Brigade, the Snake Brigade and the farm at Fort Vancouver, and ensured safe passage for company goods and mail through the region. Wallula, from the native Walúula, meaning "little river,' was a large traditional village of the Walúulapam, or Walla Walla people, and the second largest trading point for the tribes of the Columbia River Plateau after Celilo. As such, it was the ideal location for this function. , In 1832, Pierre Chrysologue Pambrun (1792-1841) was put in charge of Fort Walla Walla, described by HBC's regional administrator John McLoughlin as "one of the most troublesome post...in the Country" because of the "numerous daring and warlike tribes" there. In 1839, he was promoted to Chief Trader, the only French-Canadian to ever achieve that rank in the HBC. Pambrun ran the Fort from 1832 until 1841. The Pambruns of nearby Athena, Oregon are descended from Pierre and his wife Catherine Umfreville, the Métis (Cree) daughter of an important HBC trader family. , The practice of gift diplomacy was common in the fur trade. It connected with pre-existing diplomatic customs between tribes for acknowledging relationships and agreements. Gifting cabins would have been a fairly extreme example of the practice, but Pambrun believed "the main object must be to keep the Natives qui(e)t. Keep all matters smooth...." It is unlikely the Prince's cabin could have been constructed after Pambrun's term-after his death in 1841 his successor Archibald McKinlay discontinued the practice.