The Fort Pierre Plain

The Fort Pierre Plain. . , Joseph LaFramboise built Fort LaFramboise out of driftwood in 1817 near the mouth of the Bad River. This area is the oldest continually occupied Euro-American settlement in South Dakota. There were several fur outposts on this river plain up until the 1860s. , Fort Pierre Chouteau was AFC's main depot on the Upper Missouri. Along with Fort Union in North Dakota, it supplied a system of smaller posts and trading area throughout the Dakota. In 1855, Fort Pierre Chouteau was sold to the United States Army. It was abandoned in 1857. , In 1822 the Columbia Fur Company established Fort Tecumseh upstream near the landing of the west side of the highway bridge. Joseph moved his operation to Moody County near Flandreau that same year. LaFramboise Island is named for him. In 1827, the American Fur Company (AFC) acquired the Columbia Fur Company and renamed it the Upper Missouri Outfit. , Fort Tecumseh was too close to the river and in danger of eroding. The AFC abandoned the fort and constructed Fort Pierre Chouteau several hundred yards to the northwest in 1832. , Sponsored by the South Dakota State Historical Society, a Preserve America grant, and the Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad Corporation. Images courtesy of the South Dakota State Historical Society and The Library of Congress. , The Fort Pierre Plain, surrounded by rolling prairie and lined with a row of trees along the river, was an ideal location for settlement. , Ft. Primeau (1860's) , Ft. LaFramboise II (1862-1863) , Ft. Pierre II (1859-1863) , Ft Galpin (1857-?) , Ft. Teton II (1828-1830) , Ft. Pierre Chouteau (1832-1855) , Ft. Tecumsea (1822-1831) , Sublette and Campbell Post (1833-1834) , Ft. LaFramboise I (A.K.A. FT. Teton) (1817-1822) , , Items such as this lock (upper left), millstone (left), and clay pipe (lower left) were used at Fort Pierre Chouteau. , (picture captions , Pierre Chouteau Jr.'s fur trading license from 1839 (Library of Congress),