At the junction of the Walla Walla and Columbia Rivers, a trading post built in 1818 became a vital link in the region’s fur trade and helped open up the Northwest to the white man. From this post, traders and trappers pushed into the rich Snake River basin. In the 1840’s, pioneers on the overland trek to the Oregon country found its farms a source of supply, and employees were among the area’s first permanent settlers. Hudson’s Bay Company abandoned the fort at the start of the Indian War in 1855.