Fort Pierre’s namesake – Pierre Chouteau, Jr. – was a fur trader for John Jacob Astor’s American Fur Company. He pioneered use of steamboats on the Missouri River, helping give rise to Fort Pierre’s status as the “Fur Trading Capital of the Northwest.” <br> <br>
Fort Pierre Chouteau was established in 1832 by Pierre Chouteau to replace nearby Fort Tecumseh, which was dismantled due to shifting of the Missouri River. The facility operated through the 1850s as the largest trading post in the northern Great Plains and a major trans-shipment point for buffalo furs. The archaeological remains of the fort, located just north of Fort Pierre, were declared a National Historic Landmark in 1991.