Fort Colville Monument - Kettle Falls, WA
Posted by: 
T0SHEA
N 48° 37.713 W 118° 06.380
11U E 418480 N 5386755
At the site of the old St. Paul's Mission stands a granite monument, marking the site of the first settlement in Stevens County, WA.
Waymark Code: WMK7HB
Location: Washington, United States
Date Posted: 02/24/2014
Views: 1
Sponsored by the Kiwanians, the monument was placed by the Washington State Historical Society in 1932 to mark the site of the Hudson's Bay Company trading post, which stood to the west of the site of the marker, on a site now submerged by the Columbia River in 1939. It was the construction of the Grand Coulee Dam downstream which flooded the Columbia River Valley nearly to the Canadian border.
The first white settlement in Stevens County, which then encompassed much of northeast Washington, northern Idaho and western Montana, the post was established sometime between 1816 and 1826. There are conflicting reports concerning the exact date of its establishment. The marker states that it was established in 1826. It was abandoned in 1871 with the decline of the fur trade.
With arable land at hand and the availability of water power from the Colville River, this post grew grain and vegetables and raised livestock to supply other posts in the area which were established later. The company also built a grist mill on the Colville River to produce flour for this and other posts.
Adjacent to the monument is the restored St. Paul's Mission church, which was established to serve the natives and settlers in 1830.
HERE STOOD
FORT COLVILLE
OF THE
HUDSON'S BAY
COMPANY
1826 1871
HERE BEGAN TRADE
FARMING MILLING
AND LIVESTOCK RAISING
IN STEVENS COUNTY
