Fort Raymond was an outpost established byfur traderManuel Lisa. Alternatively it was called eitherManuel's Fort orFort Manuel. It was the first trading post maintained by European descendants in the modern state ofMontana.
In November 1807 work began on the station that Lisa named after his son. The initial buildings were "temporary shelters and a trading house with two rooms and a loft".[1] The post was located at the confluence of theBighorn and theYellowstone Rivers.[2]
Lisa oversaw daily operations for nine months after opening Fort Raymond. During the winter Colter was sent with trade goods to theNiitsitapi homelands to establish commercial relations. He met a group of indigenous men and agreed to travel with them. These men were from two nations that were traditional enemies of the Niitsitapi, theSalish andApsáalooke. An armed group of Niitsitapiksi was encountered and a battle ensued with Colter joining his traveling party against the Nittsitapi. Colter's presence on the battlefield, noted by Niitsitapiksi warriors, had a ruinous effect on future commercial efforts by Manuel Lisa.[3]
Lisa returned toSt. Louis in 1808, leaving a complement of fur trappers at Fort Raymond.[2] Upon arriving at St. Louis Lisa joinedWilliam Clark in forming a jointly owned effort to exploit fur bearing populations, theMissouri Fur Company (MFC). After returning to the station in the spring of 1809, Lisa formally added Fort Raymond as MFC property.[4] The station was abandoned after the opening ofFort Lisa in 1810.[5]