Fort Union Trading Post Historic Structures Report (Part II) Historical Data Section

Through the medium of Larpenteur's 1835 diary, history has a detailed description of the construction of this long narrow building, 127 by 25 feet. Before turning to the diary, it would be helpful to look at Denig's 1843 description:

On the east side. . . extending north and south, is a building, on [e?] range, all under one roof. . . used for the following purposes. A small room at the north end for stores and luggage; then the retail store, in which is kept a fair supply of merchandise, and where all white persons buy or sell. The prices of all goods are fixed by a tariff or stationary value. . . . Adjoining this is the wholesale warehouse, in which is kept the principal stock of goods intended for the extensive trade; this room is 57 ft. in length. Next is a small room for the storage of meat and other supplies. At the end is the press room, where all robes, furs, and peltries are stored. The dimensions extend to the top of the roof in side, which roof is perfectly waterproof. It will contain from 2800 to 3000 packs of Buffalo robes. All this range is very strongly put together, weather-boarded outside, and lined with plank within. It has also cellar and garret.

The old storerooms appear to have been torn down simply because they had been hastily built and of a temporary nature. The new building would be substantial:

May 1: "Mr. Luteman comenced the building of the stores and warehouses."

May 15: "Drivers hauling rocks for the foundation of the building."

May 25: "Still sawing timber for stores & warehouses."

May 28: "Commenced moving goods out of the [old] Stores and ware houses in to the Bastions in order to pull them down."

May 30: "Sawyers finished raughters for the store & ware houses." "Seaucie at the door and window frames of the new building."

June 3: "Commenced pulling down the store & ware houses." "Sawing planks for sheeting the new buildings."

June 5: "Smith haulling the sills of the old buildings and the earth away from the foundation. Holmes and Kieffer diging the foundation for the new buildings."

June 8: "Holmes commenced the foundation of the new building." "Mr. Luteman and Charls commenced fraiming the raughters for the roof. . . . Smith haulling lime and sand and the earth away from where the foundation is to be. Euneau making shingles."

June 16: "Smith haulling the sills of the new buildings."

June 19: "After Breakfast commenced raising the buildings."

June 22: "Carters finish haulling rocks for the foundation and the rafters of the building. Seaucie commenced dressing planks for weather boarding."

June 23: "Mr. Luteman finish[ed] raising the framing of the [illeg.] after which they tied a posey on the top of one of the rafters and fired few guns towards it with the view of getting [a treat?] which is commonly done in such occasions."

June 24: "Imployed two men in straightening the edge of the shingles."

June 25: "Quarrying rocks for the cellar. Mr. Luteman commenced sheeting the roof. . . . Imployed five men in diging the cellar."

July 1: "Commenced shingling."

July 8: "Finish diging the cellar Holmes commenced building the cellar wall."

July 16: "Seaucie puting the window and door frames in the new buildings."

July 18: "commenced weather boarding."

July 21: "preparing planks for flooring."

July 27: "Imployed two extry men in tongue and grooving planks for the flooring of the warehouse."

July 31: "Mr. Luteman placing the sleepers."

Sept. 12: "removing the potatoes. . . in to the cellar of the ware house."

Sep. 16: "removing bales of blankets. . . into the ware houses."

Sep. 24: "commenced painting the roof of the new building."

Sep. 25: "The red paint gave out and only one quarter of the roof painted."

Oct. 5: "Seaucie finish[ed] flooring the new building and finish the robe press also which stands in the south end room of the new building."

During the next thirty years there appears to have been little change in the appearance or in the functions of the store range. An employee named Harvey caused some excitement around 1840 by killing a personal enemy, Isadore Sandoval, in the whites' retail store. About the same time, George Sumpter successfully robbed this store. When Kurz arrived in 1851, robes and furs were still being stored in the press room at the south end. His sketches give considerable detail regarding the external appearance of the structure. As with the dwelling range, one long roof covered the complex. The walls appear to have been weather-boarded. Each of the four windows that are shown could be closed with a wooden shutter held in place by a long iron hook. The doors (one single, one double) were wooden. The 1866 photograph shows no chimneys in this building--most of the sketches agree with this. A (board?) walk ran along the west side of the building. (See also Point, 1847.)

Larpenteur's diary resumed its discussion of the stores in 1864. On June 30, "a great crash was heard in the Stores. . . the principal Beam which supported the Joists had given away which occasioned all the Joists to break off in the Middle." Not as much damaged occurred to either the Company's or Army's goods as first thought, and props placed under the main beam allowed full use of the building again.

Other maintenance jobs (1864) including making a "trough to turn the rain from the Store roof off of the hay," repairing the weather-boarding, and building new shelves in the retail store. The building continued to function as the store range until the end of the fort.