FEATURED LETTER: Preserving Fort Connah upholds valley's history
The annual meeting of the Fort Connah Restoration Society will be held at Ninepipes Lodge Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2014. The meeting begins at 5:30 with a no host social hour and dinner. The meeting will begin at 7:00 and is open to all members of the Restoration Society and to all people wanting to join. The members of the Restoration Society are dedicated volunteers that have been in the process of restoring the original fort building and adding other structures that made up the total fort facilities.
The original building still stands. It can be viewed to the east of U.S. Highway 93 at the bottom of Post Creek Hill. It is made up of its original hand-hewn logs and is constructed without the use of nails or bolts. The Restoration Society, through its 50 years of dedicated work, has kept the building in good repair. The project also includes rebuilding the other structures that have been described as being there. They include a storehouse, residence, blacksmith shop, sawmill and corrals.
The fort served the Mission Valley and surrounding area as the first store. Angus McDonald served as the person in charge from 1847 through 1849. He was then promoted to Chief Trader and worked out of Fort Colville in Washington, and directed all the trading posts in the Fort Colville District. His family resided at Fort Connah until the late 1850s when they moved to Fort Colville.
Fort Connah purchased from the Indian dried buffalo meat, pemmican, buffalo fat, tallow, horse accoutrements, parfleches, rawhide cords, and cords made of buffalo hair. Hides were also purchased. Bear, fisher and marten hides were the most valuable and other hides purchased were beaver, otter, red and cross fox, winter weasels or ermine, tanned dear, elk, mountain sheep, moose and buffalo.
Preserving this part of our area’s history is important to us all. It brings about an understanding of the fur trade industry and its importance in the development of the valley, its impact upon the Salish Indian people, and the future settlement of the valley.
People can support this effort by joining the Fort Connah Restoration Society as an individual member or as a family member.