New York merchant John Jacob Astor created the Pacific Fur Company (PFC) to expand the fur trade to the Pacific Northwest. The plan depended on a two-part expedition: one group would go by ship to the Columbia River, while another traveled overland to support inland trade routes. This marked a major U.S. commercial push into the contested “Oregon Country.”
Astor’s supply ship Tonquin, carrying PFC employees and trade goods, sailed from New York bound for the Columbia River. This sea route around Cape Horn was essential to Astor’s strategy because it could deliver supplies and personnel faster than an overland trek. The ship also served as a symbol of U.S. commercial reach into the Pacific.
Wilson Price Hunt led the PFC’s overland expedition from St. Louis toward the Columbia River. The goal was to open an inland supply and trapping network that could feed furs to the coastal headquarters. The journey quickly revealed how difficult it was to move men and goods across rivers, mountains, and unfamiliar terrain.
After rounding Cape Horn and stopping in Hawaiʻi, the Tonquin reached the Columbia River. Crossing the Columbia Bar (a dangerous sandbar at the river’s mouth) caused the loss of crew members during scouting attempts for a safe channel. Despite these losses, the ship’s arrival made it possible to begin building the PFC’s coastal base.
PFC employees landed and began constructing Fort Astoria near the entrance of the Columbia River. The post was designed as the headquarters for a chain of interior trading stations and as a shipping point for pelts to global markets. Fort Astoria also depended heavily on trade relationships with local Native peoples for food, labor, and commerce.
While trading along the coast, conflict erupted between the Tonquin’s crew and the Tla-o-qui-aht (Nuu-chah-nulth). Most of the crew were killed, and the ship was destroyed when survivors detonated the powder magazine. The loss removed Fort Astoria’s main supply ship and sharply increased the PFC’s vulnerability and isolation.
North West Company (NWC) explorer and trader David Thompson reached Fort Astoria while traveling down the Columbia River. His arrival showed that British-Canadian fur interests were already active and well informed in the region. The meeting highlighted the intense competition over trade routes and influence in the Pacific Northwest.
To compete for inland furs, the PFC set up Fort Okanogan at the confluence of the Okanogan and Columbia Rivers. The location connected long-standing Native trade networks with river transportation routes. This post became one of the key interior stations intended to support Astor’s larger Pacific trade system.
After extreme hardship on the Snake River and in the interior, Wilson Price Hunt arrived at Fort Astoria with surviving members of his party. Their route showed the difficulty of using the Snake River as a practical travel corridor for canoes and supplies. The battered condition of the overland group undercut Astor’s plan for a smooth, well-supported inland network.
The PFC supply ship Beaver reached Fort Astoria with needed goods and additional personnel. Its arrival helped relieve shortages and confirmed news of the Tonquin’s destruction. Even with this support, the PFC remained exposed because war and rival traders threatened both sea supply lines and local control.
By early 1813, the Astorians learned that the United States and Great Britain were at war. Because the Royal Navy controlled the coast, Fort Astoria faced the risk of seizure and the danger of being cut off from supplies. This changed the PFC’s calculations from expansion to survival and exit planning.
Facing likely British capture and severe supply risks, PFC partners at Fort Astoria agreed to sell the company’s regional assets to the North West Company. The decision ended Astor’s short-lived Pacific venture in practice, even though Astor himself was far away. Many PFC employees stayed on and shifted into British-Canadian fur trade service.
A British warship, HMS Racoon, arrived after the sale and carried out a formal ceremony of possession. Fort Astoria was renamed Fort George, signaling British control on the lower Columbia during the war period. The event underscored how quickly global conflict could reshape commercial outposts on the frontier.
The United States and Great Britain signed the Treaty of Ghent, ending the War of 1812. The treaty called for restoring territory taken during the war, but applying that principle to remote places like Fort George/Astoria proved complicated. Even so, the treaty created a legal basis for later U.S. claims that the post should be returned.
The United States and Great Britain signed the Convention (Treaty) of 1818, addressing border issues and allowing joint occupation of the Oregon Country for a limited period. This agreement shaped the region’s political future more than Astor’s business plan ever could, because it put U.S. and British interests into a formal framework. The Pacific Fur Company was gone, but Fort Astoria’s brief existence remained part of the wider argument about U.S. presence on the Pacific coast.
Pacific Fur Company and Astor Expedition to Oregon (1810–1813)