John McLaughlin, Chief Factor of Fort Vancouver
John McLoughlin was born October 19, 1784, in Quebec. In 1798, he began to study medicine with Dr. Sir. James Fisher of Quebec when only 14. He studied for 4 ½ years, then applied for his license.
In 1816, he was serving as doctor to the Northwest Fur Company, when a skirmish broke out between Northwest and Hudson's Bay Company. Some Indians were blamed for the murder of Robert Semple, governor of the Red River colony. McLoughlin knew they were innocent so handed himself over as a representative of the Northwest Company so they could have someone to blame. Instead he was arrested for the murder. While crossing Lake Superior, his arrestors' canoe collapsed and many drowned. McLoughlin almost died himself. This was supposedly when his hair turned white over night. He was tried on October 30, 1818, but all blame was dismissed. In 1819, he helped negotiate the merger between Hudson's Bay Company and the Northwest Fur Company.
McLoughlin worked as a kind of liaison for George Simpson, the new governor of the Northern Department. He resolved conflicts with the workers. He did this until 1822 when Simpson sent him to Fort Frances, about 100 miles west of his previous station. Finally, in 1824, he was appointed Chief Factor of the Columbia District.
When he arrived at Astoria, it was unfit for a headquarters. He built a new fort at Belle Vue Point and named it Ft. Vancouver. It had good soil and was at the crossroads of three fur trade routes through the Columbia, the Willamette, and the Cowlitz. He quickly made friends with the local Indians and was soon known as the White Headed Eagle. It was McLoughlin's policy to demonstrate to the Indians that all white men whether British or American were under his protection. He was sometimes criticized by the "Honourable Company" for being friendly to Americans, but he always felt it was his Christian duty as well as humanitarian to help them.
He built and planned the post how he saw fit. It was about 750 ft. long and 450 ft. wide with a stockade about 20 ft. high. The Northwest corner had two 12-lb cannon and the center had several 18 pounders. Inside were the quarters for married officers, the Chief Factor's house, kitchen, and wash house, and other small residences. Outside the stockade a small town sprung up that housed the mechanics, laborers, etc. There were 20 domestic servants at the fort, all men. He kept a large library, referred to as Columbia Library.
Latest Articles