In the first half of the 19th Century, few ventures were more profitable than the fur trade. Otter and beaver furs sold for high prices in the Orient and beaver hats were fashionable in both Europe and America. By land and sea, American, British, and Canadian traders came into the Northwest to take valuable beaver all over the world. Indians provided the majority of the pelts to the traders and posts were set up in the wilderness to attract their trade. Not only was the fur trading an important business but also it would figure prominently in securing the Northwest for the United States instead of Canada.

In 1811, David Stuart, a partner in the American Pacific Fur Company, headed up the Columbia River with eight men. Forty-two days after leaving Astoria, they landed their canoes on the shore of the Okanogan River in Central Washington. Here they would establish Fort Okanogan (or Oakinacken as Stuart had it-spelling played a small part in the fur trade), the first American settlement in what is now the State of Washington.

The site selected was a good one. Located on sand spit at the confluence of the Okanogan and Columbia rivers, it was in the middle of a long established Indian trail that led from Oregon northward to Fraser River system in Canada. Canadian traders were well aware of the benefits of such a route. No doubt the Americans sought to tap some of the Canadian trade by establishing Fort Okanogan.

In September, the men built a small house of driftwood. The party dispersed and one man, Alexander Ross, spent the winter trading with the Indians. He kept a small store of trade goods in a cellar beneath the house. Trading was good; for trade merchandise amounting to about $160.00 he received pelts valued at over $10,000.

Although the Pacific Fur Company was doing well, it faced serious problems. They were low on supplies and the Canadian Northwest Company offered them rigorous competition. Another problem was the War of 1812. The conflict between the new American nation and Great Britain could only make the situation worse. In October of 1813, members of the Northwest Company came to Astoria with word that a ship had sailed from England, "a Frigate to take and destroy everything that is American on the N.W. Coast." Suitably encouraged, the Pacific Fur Company agreed to sell "their Establishments' Furs and present Stock," including Fort Okanogan, to the Canadians.

Even after the Nor'westers bought out the American fur trade interests, they faced stiff competition. The powerful Hudson's Bay Company dominated Canadian trade. Formed in 1670, it still exists today. In the 1780s, the Canadians had organized their Northwest Company to face Hudson's Bay; but over the years, the fierce trade wars caused both companies to suffer. Since no one gained through the competition, the groups merged under the Hudson's Bay Company in 1821. With the merger, Fort Okanogan changed hands again.

Apparently little changed at Fort Okanogan after it became part of Hudson's Bay Company. From 1826 to 1829, activity at the post increased. Buffalo hides were transshipped to Canada at this point after coming from the Plains, across the Rockies and down the Columbia River. When the route for shipments was changed, Fort Okanogan declined again. A Hudson's Bay report relates that "Okanogan is falling off and as a mere place of trade will not soon pay the wages of a clerk and two men.

In 1849, the International Boundary between Canada and the U.S. was extended westward and Fort Okanogan along with other Hudson's Bay properties suddenly came within the confines of American territory. By agreement the Company continued their commerce. But the days of the fur trade were over. The great American migration that had begun with the trappers brought in settlers eager to homestead. A good beaver peltry needs wilderness to survive and there were few land-hungry Americans who were willing to overlook fertile farmlands for the benefit of the beaver. The styles that had caused the demand for beaver was no longer the fashion and the demand declined. In 1860, the Hudson's Bay Company abandoned Fort Okanogan and moved back into Canada.

The fort was stripped of everything of value and left to the elements. Indians and miners passing across the bar used it as a temporary camp. Gradual decay eliminated all signs of the posts, once important establishments in a complex and highly developed trading system.

Very little has been recorded about Fort Okanogan and most of what we know today is the result of archaeological investigation. Apparently, the first site consisted of only one or two buildings until the summer of 1816 when a group of men began to rebuild the post. They built a four-roomed house with a dining hall, two houses for the traders and trappers living at the post, a storehouse for furs and trading and a stockade. The 15-foot high stockade surrounded the post and had bastions on two corners. The upper floor of the bastions had loopholes in the wall for muskets and a light cannon was on the floor. Later a blacksmith shop was added to the buildings.

Sometime between 1831 and 1837 the post was abandoned and rebuilt on the Columbia River about a mile away. There were several reasons for the move. The landing site on the Okanogan was to shallow and banks to steep. During the summer, dust and mosquitoes made life miserable and in the winter, the dust turned to mud that made the handling of heavy goods difficult. At the Columbia location, there was a good beach with a gentle ascent to the land and it was a natural ferry.

Today, both sites are located in a low-lying area and are periodically flooded by the backwaters of the Wells Dam on the Columbia River. Both sites have been marked with poles, which enable the public to view them from a distance at the Fort Okanogan Interpretive Center operated, by the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission.