Manuel Lisa - Grave of a Famous Person on Waymarking.com

Manuel Lisa became one of the most famous fur traders during the early 1800’s. His success rivaled and surpassed that of John Jacob Astor’s Rocky Mountain Fur Company. Through his early expedition along the Upper Missouri River, Lisa developed strong relationships with the Sioux, Ponca, Osage, Mandan and Arikara which allowed him to established forts and trading posts and eventually control much of the fur trade along the Upper Missouri. In 1812, Lisa became the first U. S. Settler in Nebraska, when he established a Fort Lisa, about 12-miles from the present day city of Omaha. During the next 8-years, Lisa continued to ply his trade splitting his time between Fort Lisa in Omaha and St. Louis. He also married for the third, when he married Mary Hempstead Keeney who was a member of a very prominent St. Louis Family. Manuel Lisa died in St. Louis, Missouri on August 12, 1820 and is buried in the Bellefontaine Cemetery in St. Louis.

Description: Manuel Lisa was born on September 8, 1772 and became one of the most famous explorers and fur traders of the early 1800’s. By 1800 Manuel Lisa was very well known in the fur business, which he started with much of his own capital. In 1802 the Spanish government, which had authority over the territory in the Rocky Mountain, granted him a monopoly for fur commerce with the Osage Nation. In Lisa was also involved in the supply preparation for the Lewis and Clark Expedition in 1803-4, which originated from St. Louis. In 1807, Lisa organized annual fur trapping expeditions to the region along the Upper Missouri River. During one of his first expedition he established a trading post near the mouth of the Big Horn River, which soon he named Fort Raymond but was known among the trappers as Fort Manuel. The fort was located in the heart of Blackfoot Territory and was under frequent attack by the fierce Indians. With his profits from these early trapping expeditions, Manuel Lisa joined Pierre Chouteau, William Clark and Andrew Henry in forming the St. Louis Fur Company, later known as the Missouri Fur Company. He built Fort Lisa in 1809 between the Little Missouri and the Big Knife Rivers in what is today North Dakota. In 1812 Lisa became the first U.S. settler of Nebraska, building his second Fort Lisa on the Missouri River about 12 miles north of Omaha. For a decade this outpost was the most important in the region. After several founding members of the Missouri Fur Company left, Manuel Lisa headed the company. After 1814 he renamed it Manuel Lisa and Company. His forts and trading posts along with his strong relationship with the Indian Tribes made him the master of the Upper Missouri by 1820. Late in life Lisa married his third wife, Mary Hempstead Keeney who was a widow and member of a prominent St. Louis family. Manuel spent the winter of 1819-1820 at Fort Lisa in Omaha but returned to St. Louis in the late spring of 1820. Manuel Lisa died in St. Louis on August 12, 1820. He was buried in the Hempstead Family Plot in the Bellefontaine Cemetery. Date of birth: 09/08/1772 Date of death: 08/12/1820 Area of notoriety: Historical Figure Marker Type: Monument Setting: Outdoor Visiting Hours/Restrictions: Daily - 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Fee required?: No Web site: [Web Link]

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