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Description
Chickasaw Bluffs Factory was a Federal Government-run trading house on the Chickasaw Bluffs overlooking the Mississippi River on the site that was later to become the city of Memphis. The factory was established in 1802 by order of President Thomas Jefferson for the purpose of trade with the Chickasaw Indians. From 1795 to 1822 these Government-operated trading posts with the Indians, known as factories, began operation under the immediate supervision of the Secretary of War. The government trader, or factor, was to provide goods (tools, clothing, tobacco, utensils, and sometimes weapons and ammunition) to the Indians in exchange for animal skins and fur. The Chickasaw Factory received goods from Philadelphia by way of the Ohio River while skins and pelts collected by the factory were sent downriver to New Orleans. In 1818 the Factory was relocated to the Spadre Bluff on the Arkansas River. The newly created Office of Indian Trade, which later became the Office of Indian Affairs, took over administration of the factories in 1806,. The factory system was abolished by the federal government in 1822. This ledger or paybook covers a two year period from 1806 to 1808.
Identifier
sc.0054.001_001
Date
1806-1808
Keywords
Memphis (Tenn.), Mississippi River Valley--History--1803-1865., United States. Indian Trade Department, Account books—Tennessee.
Recommended Citation
"Chickasaw Bluffs Factory ledger" (2021). Documents. 1.
https://digitalcommons.memphis.edu/speccoll-mss-ledger1/1
