Pierre Chouteau Jr. (January 19, 1789 – September 6, 1865), also referred to as Pierre Cadet Chouteau, was an American merchant and a member of the wealthy

Chouteau Chouteau was the name of a highly successful, ethnically French fur-trading family based in Saint Louis, Missouri, which they helped found. Their ancestors Chouteau and Laclède initially settled in New Orleans. They then moved-up the Mississipp ...

fur-trading family of Saint Louis,

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

Early life and education

Chouteau was born in St. Louis, where his father,

Jean Pierre Chouteau Jean-Pierre Chouteau (10 October 1758 – 10 July 1849) was a French Creole fur trader, merchant, politician, and slaveholder. An early settler of St. Louis from New Orleans, he became one its most prominent citizens. He and his family were promi ...

, was one of the first settlers and part of the ethnic French elite. His mother was Pelagie Kiersereau (1767–1793). One of his brothers was

Auguste Pierre Chouteau Auguste Pierre Chouteau (9 May 1786 – 25 December 1838) was a member of the Chouteau fur-trading family who established trading posts in what is now the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Chouteau was born in St. Louis, then part of Spanish colonial ...

. A half-brother (by his father's second wife Brigitte Saucier) was

François Chouteau François Gesseau Chouteau (February 7, 1797 – April 18, 1838) was an American pioneer fur trader, businessman and community leader known as the "Founder" or "Father" of Kansas City, Missouri. Biography François Gesseau Chouteau was born in 1797 ...

, a trader who became one of the first European-American settlers of

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...

. His son-in-law was

John F. A. Sanford John Francis Alexander Sanford (1806–1857) was a frontiersman of the American west who worked with Native American tribes as an Indian agent. He later joined Pierre Chouteau Jr. in a fur trapping and trading business. He extended his inter ...

who later became one of Chouteau's business partners.

Career

Pierre Chouteau followed in the family footsteps by starting a trade with the

Osage tribe The Osage Nation ( ) ( Osage: 𐓁𐒻 𐓂𐒼𐒰𐓇𐒼𐒰͘ ('), "People of the Middle Waters") is a Midwestern Native American tribe of the Great Plains. The tribe developed in the Ohio and Mississippi river valleys around 700 BC along ...

at age 15. He also operated

lead Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...

mines around

Dubuque, Iowa Dubuque (, ) is the county seat of Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, located along the Mississippi River. At the time of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population of Dubuque was 59,667. The city lies at the junction of Iowa, Il ...

until the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

.Pierre Chouteau Jr. (Cadet)
/ref> Chouteau was a member of Bernard Pratte and Company, the Western agent for

John Jacob Astor John Jacob Astor (born Johann Jakob Astor; July 17, 1763 – March 29, 1848) was a German-American businessman, merchant, real estate mogul, and investor who made his fortune mainly in a fur trade monopoly, by smuggling opium into China, and ...

American Fur Company The American Fur Company (AFC) was founded in 1808, by John Jacob Astor, a German immigrant to the United States. During the 18th century, furs had become a major commodity in Europe, and North America became a major supplier. Several British co ...

in 1827. He pioneered the use of

steamboats A steamboat is a boat that is marine propulsion, propelled primarily by marine steam engine, steam power, typically driving propellers or Paddle steamer, paddlewheels. Steamboats sometimes use the ship prefix, prefix designation SS, S.S. or S/S ...

on the Missouri River. In 1834, Pratte and Chouteau bought all the Missouri River interests of the Astor Fur company. (The northern portion of Astor's company went to

Ramsay Crooks Ramsay Crooks (2 January 1787 – 6 June 1859) was an American fur trader who immigrated to Canada from Greenock, Scotland. He was the father of American Civil War Colonel William Crooks (colonel), William Crooks who served in the 6th Minnesota R ...

, who retained the "American Fur Company" title for his company.) It was reorganized in 1838 as Pierre Chouteau, Jr. and Company and continued until it dissolved in 1864. In 1847 Pierre and his brother Auguste established Fort Benton in present-day

Chouteau County, Montana Chouteau County is a county located in the North-Central region of the U.S. state of Montana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 5,895. Its county seat is Fort Benton. The county was established in 1865 as one of the original nine count ...

as the last fur trading post on the Upper Missouri River. In the early days, the Chouteau interests supplied pelts for the

beaver hat A beaver hat is a hat made from felted beaver fur. They were fashionable across much of Europe during the period 1550–1850 because the soft yet resilient material could be easily combed to make a variety of hat shapes (including the familiar to ...

industry. When the industry began to collapse around 1850, they began a trade in buffalo hides. Chouteau also invested heavily in

railroads Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in Track (rail transport), tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the ...

, rolling mills, and

mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic via ...

. He was an influential contributor to US Senator Thomas Hart Benton. Benton was the namesake for Fort Benton when it was purchased by the US Army in 1865. Chouteau died at his daughter's home in St. Louis on September 6, 1865.

Legacy and honors

, was named for him, as is the town

Choteau Choteau is a city in and the county seat of Teton County, Montana, United States. It lies along U.S. Routes 89 and 287, (the latter terminating at the former in this city) approximately east of the Rocky Mountains, near Flathead National Fo ...

in nearby Teton County. *He built Fort Pierre in

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota people, Lakota and Dakota peo ...

, which was named for him.

Pierre, South Dakota Pierre ( ; lkt, Čhúŋkaške, lit=fort) is the capital city of South Dakota, United States, and the seat of Hughes County. The population was 14,091 at the 2020 census, making it the second-least populous US state capital after Montpelier, ...

, the state capital across the Missouri river from Fort Pierre, also is named for him.

Papers

A portion of the Pierre Chouteau and Family Papers are available for research use at the Minnesota Historical Society. They consist of original, photostatic copies from the Missouri Historical Society, and typed transcripts of letters between Pierre Chouteau, Henry Chouteau, Ramsay Crooks, George Davenport, Hercules L. Dousman, Kenneth McKenzie, Henry M. Rice, Joseph Rolette, Henry H. Sibley, Joseph M. Street and others as well as contracts, accounts, and other related documents concerning the fur trade, fur companies, the Dakota, Sauk, and Fox Indians, and similar matters. Some digital content is available.Pierre Chouteau and Family Papers
Minnesota Historical Society

References

External links

Pierre Chouteau and Family Papers
Minnesota Historical Society {{DEFAULTSORT:Chouteau, Pierre 1789 births 1865 deaths Businesspeople from St. Louis People of Dakota Territory American people of French descent American merchants 19th-century American businesspeople