Old Northwest Trading Post

For nearly two centuries, felt hats and fur coats were high fashion in Europe. The felt was made from animal hair. . . with the best quality felt made from Beaver. The trapping of Beaver in Europe was so intense that the animal was nearly extinct. A rich, new source of Beaver and other animal furs was exploited by French voyageurs from eastern Canada (New France) who traveled far and wide in search of the valuable skins. The French didn’t trap and prepare the furs; the American Indians did. A quantity of preserved skins could be exchanged for an iron pot, metal hatchets, a gun and gunpowder, scissors, knives, cloth, needles and other items.This log cabin was built by Joseph Bailly in northwest Indiana in the 1820’s. Pottawatomie Indians brought furs to Bailly’s store each spring to trade for merchandise. Bailly would pack the furs he bought into 60 lb. bundles and ship them (by boat) to Mackinac For almost two centuries, felt hats were the fashion in Europe. The felt was made from animal hair. . . with the best quality felt made from Beaver.The French from eastern Canada (Quebec Province) ranged far and wide in pursuit of animal skins. The French didn’t actually trap and prepare the skins, the American Indians did and traded the preserved skins for iron pots, metal hatchets, guns and gunpowder, scissors, knives, cloth, needles and other items.This log cabin was built by Joseph Bailly in northwest Indiana in the 1820’s. Pottawatomie Indians brought furs to Bailly’s store each spring to trade for merchandise. Bailly would pack the furs he bought into 60 lb. bundles and ship them (by boat) to Mackinac at the top of Lake Michigan. At Mackinac, Bailly’s furs, along with furs from many other traders, were shipped (again by boat) to Montreal and on to Quebec. In Quebec, the furs were loaded onto large sailing ships and carried to Europe. In Europe, the hair was removed from the skin, processed into felt and fashioned into men’s and women’s hats. By 1830, the fur trading business had ended as over trapping nearly depleted the Beaver in North America and the felt hat was no longer in fashion.