Clearing up confusion about Fort Hall history

NOTE: You can buy a map of the many Fort Halls here.

When social media posts appear discussing the history of “Fort Hall,” confusion seems inevitable. Not because anyone is getting their facts wrong, but the facts themselves are so garbled that folks throw their hands up in frustration.

Let’s start with the most important fact: There were and are multiple places called “Fort Hall.” While some buildings and locations were officially named “Fort Hall,” the name was also used for the region to the north of Pocatello or other establishments in the area because it was so well known and important in the region. The name was often used imprecisely in the past much as someone traveling to Meridian or Garden City today might say they are “headed to Boise.” So it takes a bit of judgment to determine what original sources mean when they say, “Fort Hall.”

“Old Fort Hall” (1) — On July 31, 1834, Nathaniel Jarvis Wyeth’s men completed the log palisade on a fur trading post approximately 11 miles northwest of present-day Pocatello (near the northeastern edge of the current American Falls Reservoir). The location was in the river bottoms of the Snake River above the confluence of that river and the Portneuf. Fort Hall provided abundant grass and water and was situated to take advantage of the fur trade in what is now Eastern Idaho. Wyeth named the fort after Henry Hall, a Boston businessman and major financial backer.

HBC Fort Hall (1) — Wyeth was unable to compete with British interests and sold the fort in August 1837 to the Hudson Bay Company (HBC). The HBC upgraded and expanded the fort (using adobe construction) and continued to operate it as a trading post. Despite the 1846 resolution of the Oregon Territory dispute between the USA and England, the British company continued to operate the fort until about 1856 to take advantage of the emigrant traffic over the Oregon Trail. There is a memorial marker placed at the site of Old Fort Hall; however, it is on the Fort Hall Reservation and special permission is required to visit it.

Cantonment Loring “Fort Hall” (2a) — In 1849 to 1850, the U.S. military maintained a camp near the location of the old fort. While operating under a different name, “Fort Hall” was still used in common vernacular to describe the area and occasionally the Army post. While most literature, based on an 1854 report by John Mullan, places the Cantonment five miles north of Old Fort Hall (2b), a drawing of the encampment by Joseph Goldsborough Bruff from 1849 states it was, “on a small branch of Snake River, about 5 ms. S.E. by E. from Fort Hall”. Similarly, the company medical officer Dr. Wm. F. Edgar stated the Cantonment was “about five miles east of the trading post.” This would place Cantonment Loring on Ross Fork Creek. It is possible the name migrated to a common camping location north of Old Fort Hall as the years wore on explaining Mullan’s location.

Way Point “Fort Hall” (1) — Although abandoned around 1856, the HBC Fort Hall was still useful as a campsite with some protection provided by the walls and crumbling buildings. Trappers and military units occasionally stayed there until 1863 when a flood destroyed what remained of the fort.

Howe’s Camp — From June until September of 1860, Major Howe established a camp on the Portneuf about 6 miles southeast of the old Fort Hall to protect emigrants on the Oregon Trail. Sources seem to make a distinction between “Fort Hall” and Howe’s Camp.

“Fort Hall” stage station (3) — In 1864 a stage station was built on Spring Creek south of Old Fort Hall using some of the logs from the original fort. Ben Holladay’s Overland Stage Company used the station for the lucrative US mail contract, but Holladay sold his stage empire to Wells Fargo knowing the railroad would soon make his stage lines obsolete. As with many stage stations, the Fort Hall station gradually fell into disuse.

Camp Lander “Fort Hall” (4) — In 1865-1866, the Army established Camp Lander just southeast of the ruins of Old Fort Hall on the north side of Ross Fork. Soldiers likely also salvaged some materials from the old fort for the camp.

Fort Hall Indian Reservation (5) — Established in 1867 as a reservation for Shoshone and Bannock Native Americans, the reservation was named after the commonly accepted name for the area but included the entire reservation as it is today as well as the region south of Pocatello to Red Rock pass. The reservation was reduced in two negotiated cessions in 1889 and 1902 to its current boundaries.

Fort Hall Indian Agency (6) — In 1867, an Indian agency was established for the reservation where the wagon road to Montana crossed the Oregon Trail.

New Fort Hall (7) — On May 27, 1870, the Army built a new Fort Hall military post on Lincoln Creek, approximately 25 miles northeast of the old Fort Hall. While called a “fort,” the post was more of an open camp without an outer wall or even a fence. The new post’s purpose was to protect the mail and overland travel, and to ensure the Shoshone and Bannock stayed on the reservation. The post officially closed June 11, 1883. The buildings were transferred to the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The buildings were then repurposed into an Indian Boarding school. Later, the buildings were moved to another location on the reservation.

Fort Hall Townsite (8) — The initial few agency buildings developed into the current Fort Hall townsite created in 1918 about eight and a half miles north of Pocatello.

Fort Hall Replica (9) — In the 1960s a replica of the Hudson Bay Company’s fort was built at Upper Ross Park in Pocatello. It was based upon the original plans still owned by the HBC and was designed to be as authenticate and faithful to the original as possible. It is still operated today by the Bannock County Historical Society and is adjacent to the Bannock County Historical Museum.

Fort Hall Hill (Adams County, Idaho) — Named after Solon Hall who built a series of US Mail cabins on the route between Indian Valley and Warren. The cabins were not made to be forts, nor were they used as forts. Somehow people just started calling them “forts” and the name stuck and the hill where the cabin was built was accordingly named after the cabin/fort. There is no relationship between the cabin in Adams County and those in Southeastern Idaho.

Fort Hall, Kenya — There is a Fort Hall in Africa, but it has absolutely nothing to do with Idaho. However, every once in a while, an old black and white photo of that fort appears online claiming to be a picture of one of the Fort Halls in Idaho.