Bordeaux Trading Post
A reconstructed nineteenth-century fur-trading post near Chadron, Nebraska, now preserved on the grounds of the Museum of the Fur Trade.
Last updated August 26, 2026
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Overview
Bordeaux Trading Post was a frontier fur-trading establishment associated with James Bordeaux and the American Fur Company in what is now northwestern Nebraska. The post was established in 1837 in the Bordeaux Creek valley, a location selected for access to buffalo-robe trade and for its proximity to Brulé Sioux communities that wintered in the protected valleys of the region. Although it is sometimes described as a building or historic site rather than a commercial brand, the name represents a specific trading operation whose activities connected Indigenous communities, independent traders, the American Fur Company, military posts, and the wider regional economy of the Northern Plains. The post originated through the initiative of Frederick Laboue, an American Fur Company trader known to the Sioux as “Grey Eyes.” After the company acquired Fort Laramie, Laboue sought satellite locations that could gather buffalo robes from areas away from the principal fort. He selected James Bordeaux, a Missouri-born French trader known to Indigenous communities as “The Bear,” to manage the station. Bordeaux had family and political connections among the Brulé Sioux, including marriage to two sisters of Swift Bear, a leader of the Corn Band. These relationships helped place the post within the complex network of trade, kinship, diplomacy, and competition that shaped commerce on the Plains. The structure commonly identified with the trading post was built during 1845–1846, while the broader trading operation had already been active for several years. In 1849, after the U.S. Army purchased Fort Laramie from the American Fur Company during the California Gold Rush era, Bordeaux became an independent trader. He expanded his activities beyond Bordeaux Creek, eventually maintaining commercial and ranching interests near Fort Laramie and on Chugwater Creek in Wyoming. He also served as an interpreter during the 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty negotiations. His son Louis sometimes operated the Bordeaux Creek post during the later period of the family business. The post's later history reflects the increasing militarization and political instability of the Northern Plains. In 1872 Bordeaux left his western commercial interests and relocated to Fort Randall, where he obtained government supply contracts. The Bordeaux Creek site was then occupied by Francis Boucher, the son-in-law of Brulé Sioux chief Spotted Tail. Boucher became associated with the illicit movement of firearms and ammunition to Indigenous fighters resisting federal efforts to confine them to reservations. In August 1876, soldiers captured Boucher with approximately 40,000 rounds of ammunition, effectively ending his operation at the site. The post subsequently declined and had fallen into ruins by the arrival of the railroad and homesteaders in the Pine Ridge region in 1885. Archaeological identification and reconstruction began in the twentieth century. Eyewitness testimony from local residents and from the sons of rival trader Joseph Bissonette helped establish the post's exact location and provided unusually detailed information about its interior arrangement. Excavations in 1956 exposed original foundation stones, hearthstones, entry-threshold stones, wall alignments, and the holes that had held the building's upright supports. Because the original timber had deteriorated, the building was reconstructed using weathered lumber from a nearby ranch house, with the structure aligned to the original post-holes and dimensions. The reconstructed post was formally opened in 1956 and is now located on the grounds of the Museum of the Fur Trade. It was listed as an archaeological site on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972, and a state historical marker was installed on the museum grounds in 1967.
History
Bordeaux Trading Post was established in the fall of 1837 on Bordeaux Creek in the Northern Plains, in a region that is now part of Nebraska near Chadron. Its creation was linked to the American Fur Company's effort to expand the collection of buffalo robes after acquiring Fort Laramie from William Sublette. Frederick Laboue, an American Fur Company trader known as “Grey Eyes” among the Sioux, wanted satellite posts in sheltered valleys used by Indigenous communities during the winter. He appointed James Bordeaux, a Missouri Frenchman known as “The Bear,” as manager. Bordeaux's position was strengthened by his relationships with Brulé Sioux communities. He was married to two sisters of Swift Bear, a leader of the Corn Band, and the post operated within a broader system in which commercial exchange was inseparable from kinship, diplomacy, translation, and political negotiation. The building associated with the operation was constructed in 1845–1846. The post traded in the regional fur economy, particularly buffalo robes, and served as one of several smaller stations supporting the larger Fort Laramie network. Following the Army's purchase of Fort Laramie in 1849, Bordeaux operated independently. He continued to trade and developed additional business and ranching interests near Fort Laramie and on Chugwater Creek in Wyoming. He later worked as an interpreter during the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868. His son Louis periodically managed the Bordeaux Creek station. Bordeaux's western activities ended in 1872, when he moved to Fort Randall and obtained government contracts for supplying the Army with hay, firewood, and other services. He died there in 1878 at the age of 64 from pneumonia. After Bordeaux's departure, Francis Boucher occupied the post. Boucher was the son-in-law of Spotted Tail, the leading chief of the Brulé Sioux, and became involved in secretly supplying weapons and ammunition to Indigenous forces resisting federal military and reservation policies. Soldiers arrested him at the post in August 1876 with about 40,000 rounds of ammunition. The seizure ended the site's role in that trade. By the time the railroad and homesteaders reached the Pine Ridge area in 1885, the post had deteriorated into ruins. The precise location was later recovered through a combination of local recollections, testimony from people who had seen the ruins, and archaeological evidence. Hudson Mead, the first county surveyor, and Welcome Naylor, whose family were early settlers on Bordeaux Creek, identified the remains. Herbert and John Bissonette, sons of Bordeaux's contemporary and competitor Joseph Bissonette, supplied detailed memories of the building's shelves, counters, windows, furnishings, and internal layout. Their accounts were compared with the archaeological record. The site was excavated in 1956. The timber walls and upright-support stumps had deteriorated and could not be reused, while settlers had removed accessible chimney stones. The original fireplace hearthstones and entry threshold stones, believed to have been laid in 1837, remained in place. A reconstruction was built on the original foundation stones, using hand-hewn native timber and resetting supports in the original post-holes. Weathered lumber from a nearby ranch house was used for the reconstruction, which was formally opened in 1956. The post is preserved on the grounds of the Museum of the Fur Trade. A state historical marker was installed in 1967, and the site was listed as an archaeological resource on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. The reconstructed building was also treated as part of the site's historic preservation significance.
- 1972
Listed on the National Register
[1]The site was listed as an archaeological resource on the National Register of Historic Places.
- 1967
State historical marker installed
[1]A historical marker was placed on the museum grounds with financial support from the Chadron Area Chamber of Commerce.
- 1956
Post reconstructed
[1]Archaeological work and testimony identified the original location, allowing a reconstruction to be built on the original foundation stones and post-holes.
- 1876
Boucher's ammunition operation ended
[1]Army troops arrested Francis Boucher at the post with approximately 40,000 rounds of ammunition.
- 1872
Bordeaux left the post
[1]Bordeaux abandoned his western trading interests and moved to Fort Randall, where he undertook supply contracts for the Army.
- 1868
Bordeaux served as a treaty interpreter
[1]James Bordeaux worked as an interpreter during the Fort Laramie Treaty negotiations.
- 1849
Bordeaux became an independent trader
[1]After the Army acquired Fort Laramie from the American Fur Company, James Bordeaux entered business on his own account.
- 1845
Permanent post building constructed
[1]The principal structure associated with Bordeaux Trading Post was built during 1845–1846.
- 1837
Trading post established
[1]Frederick Laboue of the American Fur Company ordered the establishment of a satellite trading post on Bordeaux Creek and selected James Bordeaux to manage it.
Products and positioning
A historically reconstructed fur-trade site interpreted as a place of commerce, Indigenous diplomacy, frontier exchange, and nineteenth-century Plains history.
Brand decisions
1956
Reconstruction on the original siteStrategyBackground
Archaeological investigation and eyewitness testimony identified the former post's location, but the original timber had deteriorated beyond practical reuse.
Action taken
Preservationists reconstructed the building on its original foundation stones, followed the original wall alignment and post-holes, and used historically compatible weathered and hand-hewn timber.
Aftermath
The reconstructed post became part of the Museum of the Fur Trade grounds and an interpreted historic site.
Sources1 sources
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