Michael Troutman Simmons (August 5, 1814 – November 15, 1867) was an American pioneer and one of the first white men to settle in the

Puget Sound Puget Sound ( ) is a sound of the Pacific Northwest, an inlet of the Pacific Ocean, and part of the Salish Sea. It is located along the northwestern coast of the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected ma ...

.Wilma 2003.

Biography

Simmons was one of ten children, born in

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

in 1814. As a boy, he moved with his mother to

Pike County, Illinois Pike County is a county in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 United States Census, it had a population of 16,430. Its county seat is Pittsfield. History Pike County was formed in January 1821 out of Madison County. It was named ...

. When Michael was 21 years old, he moved to

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

and married a 15-year-old girl named Elizabeth Kindred. Five years later, the couple moved to

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 ...

and Michael built a

gristmill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and Wheat middlings, middlings. The term can refer to either the Mill (grinding), grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist i ...

. At the age of 30, he decided to abandon the Mid-West and came to the Puget Sound on a wagon train with a group of settlers (including his friend

George Washington Bush George Washington Bush (1779 – April 5, 1863) was an American pioneer and one of the first African-American (Irish and African) non-Amerindian settlers of the Pacific Northwest. Early life and education George Bush was born in Pennsylvania ...

) in late 1845. He assumed leadership of the new settlers, who gave him the title of "Colonel". After taking advice from the traders of the

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC; french: Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson) is a Canadian retail business group. A fur trading business for much of its existence, HBC now owns and operates retail stores in Canada. The company's namesake business div ...

Fort Nisqually Fort Nisqually was an important fur trading and farming post of the Hudson's Bay Company in the Puget Sound area, part of the Hudson's Bay Company's Columbia Department. It was located in what is now DuPont, Washington. Today it is a living h ...

, the new American settlers founded New Market (later

Tumwater Tumwater is a town in Thurston County, Washington, United States. The population was 25,350 at the 2020 census. It is situated near where the Deschutes River enters Budd Inlet, the southernmost point of Puget Sound; it also borders the state ca ...

). Despite its help, three years later Simmons led a campaign of complaints against the "monarchist" Hudson's Bay Company. At New Market, Simmons exploited the power of

Tumwater Falls The Tumwater Falls are a series of cascades on the Deschutes River in Tumwater, Washington, United States. They are located near where the river empties into Budd Inlet, a southerly arm of Puget Sound in Olympia. Geology The Deschutes River car ...

to construct mills, but in 1850 sold his interests at New Market and moved to

Olympia The name Olympia may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film * ''Olympia'' (1938 film), by Leni Riefenstahl, documenting the Berlin-hosted Olympic Games * ''Olympia'' (1998 film), about a Mexican soap opera star who pursues a career as an athlet ...

. Simmons invested in shipping and, despite being illiterate, became Olympia's

postmaster A postmaster is the head of an individual post office, responsible for all postal activities in a specific post office. When a postmaster is responsible for an entire mail distribution organization (usually sponsored by a national government), ...

. After the appointment of

Isaac Stevens Isaac Ingalls Stevens (March 25, 1818 – September 1, 1862) was an American military officer and politician who served as governor of the Territory of Washington from 1853 to 1857, and later as its delegate to the United States House of Represen ...

as the first governor of newly established

Washington Territory The Territory of Washington was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1853, until November 11, 1889, when the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Washington. It was created from the ...

, Simmons was appointed Indian agent and in 1854 and 1855 was charged with preparing the enforcement of Governor Steven's Indian treaties. Simmons died on November 15, 1867.

References

Sources

* Ficken, Robert E. (2002). ''Washington Territory''. Pullman. * Morgan, Murray (1979). ''Puget's Sound: A Narrative of Early Tacoma and the Southern Sound''. Seattle. * Wilma, David (January 22, 2003)
"Michael T. Simmons settles at Tumwater in October 1845"
Retrieved January 11, 2007.

External links

Washington State History Museum The Washington State History Museum is a history museum located in downtown Tacoma, Washington, United States. It is operated by the Washington State Historical Society under the official approval of the Washington State Legislature. The museu ...

Treaties and Councils: The Stevens Entourage
1814 births 1867 deaths Washington (state) pioneers History of Washington (state) Oregon Trail People from Kentucky People from Tumwater, Washington United States Indian agents {{US-hist-stub