Western Pioneers, Frontiermen,
Mountainmen and Fur Traders
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Wyatt Earp - a work in progress
Scientists and Inventors
Academy
of Achievement
Brings you face to face with the extraordinary individuals who have shaped the twentieth
century. It is an amazing collection, not of mere artifacts, but of people and ideas that fill
you with inspiration, encouragement, and the will to achieve.
Other Well-Known Westerners
(Biographies as presented by THE WEST TV Series)
1. The List
2. James Marshall (1810 - 1885)
He discovered gold in California in 1848 on John Sutter's land.
3. John Sutter (1803 - 1880)
As gold was discovered on his property followed by eager goldminers he experienced an economic setback and went bankrupt.
4. Oliver Otis Howard (1830 - 1909)
Made peace with Chiricahua Apache leader Cochise and made efforts to distribute land to African-Americans.
5. James Henry Lane (1814 - 1866)
Principal leader of anti-slavery forces, supporter of civil rights and political equality for African-Americans.
6. Julia L. Lovejoy (1812 - 1882)
Principal in the anti-slavery movement and she was also for abolition.
7. Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) (1835 - 1910)
Perhaps the most known author in the west. He had a humoristic twang to his stories.
8. Official site of Mark Twain
9. Mark Twain Quotations, Newspaper Clippings and Related Resources
10. More quotes by Mark Twain
11. William Gilpin (1813 - 1894)
Helped to stir the "Oregon Fever" generating a lot of new settlers in the North West.
12. Joseph F. Glidden (1813 - 1906)
The inventor of the barbed wire widely used in the west.
13. Joseph L. Meek (1810 - 1875)
Trapper and Mountain Man, had 3 Indian wifes, later became Oregon's Federal Marshal.
14. James K. Polk (1795 - 1849)
The 11th President of the U.S. Was perhaps more responsible that any other person for setting the boundaries of what came to be the American West.
15. Benjamin Singleton (1809 - 1892)
Brought African-Americans to the west.
16. Levi Strauss (1829 - 1902)
Started by selling Levi's to California Gold Miners.
17. Frederick J. Turner (1861 - 1932)
Historian of the American West.
18. Mariano G. Vallejo (1808 - 1890)
A "Californio", a Mexican residing in California.
19. William C. Quantrill (1837 - 1865)
A guerilla fighter for the Confederate Forces, active in Kansas and Missouri.
20. William Mulholland (1855 - 1935)
Principal in Los Angeles engineering projects.
21. Joshua A. Norton (1818 - 1880)
The nutty Joshua Norton declared himself the "emperor of the United States and protector of Mexico".
22. People from The Old West
Annie Oakley (1860 - 1925), The Apache Kid, Lillie Langtry (1853 - 1929), Judge Roy Bean (1825 - 1903).
Mountain Men and Fur Traders
The following links were inspired by a suggestion from Dr. Roger McGrath, Professor at the
History Department, UCLA, Los Angeles:
"I would suggest that you add a category on the Mountain Men and the fur trade. The days of the
beaver trappers - 1820s and 30s - were probably the most colorful and adventurous in the history
of the American West."
Images of Fur Trade History
Mountainmen
Trappers and Fur Traders
The Fur Trade in Utah
Ship-based Fur Trading
Fort Vancouver, WA - if you're in the Northwest don't miss it!
The Metis - the Metis Nation of Ontario
The Metis are the mixed-blood descendants of French fur traders from the Northwest Company or
Scottish or English fur traders from the Hudson's Bay Company and Cree, Ojibway, or Salteaux
women. This mingling of peoples began in the mid-1600s and reached its height in the late 1800s.
This site is being built as a resource for the Metis People of Alberta.
Forts Folle Avoine
A Historical Park featuring the Wisconsin fur trade 1802.
To the Oregon Territory
Natalie Wyeth from Cambridge, Mass., went on an expedition with 20 followers in 1832 to the
Oregon Territory.
Rocky Mountain House National Historic Site (Canada)
A Beaver Hat Fashions The Settlement of The West
The fur trade was now centered around forts built by the trading companies.
Mountain Men and the Fur Trade Web
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