Mountain Man Museum to host 2024 National Fur Trade Symposium September 12-15, 2024
August 22, 2024
The Museum of the Mountain Man in Pinedale will host the 2024 National Fur Trade Symposium Thursday through Sunday, September 12-15th. This event is held every three years at different fur trade history related sites around the country.
The theme for this year’s symposium is "The Eve of Rendezvous: A Bicentennial Event." This is a four-day event with presentations on Friday & Saturday, auto tours on Thursday & Sunday, and special evening programs with dinner on Thursday, Friday & Saturday. Approximately 200 attendees are expected, composed mostly of fur trade enthusiasts. Programs will be held at the Museum of the Mountain Man and at the Pinedale Library.
Symposium Schedule
Those who wish to attend should register by the end of August to get lodging and registration discount rates. Early registration is open until August 31st either by printed form or online.
Early registration is $200/person. Cost to register as of September 1, 2024 is $225. This is mostly because they need to get a head count for food planning. Registration cost includes all presentations, special programs, meals (lunch Friday & Saturday, dinner Thursday, Friday & Saturday), auto tours, and a printed copy of proceedings after the symposium.
Lodging is paid separate directly to local establishments, but Symposium block discounts have been arranged with some hotels. See Lodging
Chart for details.
In the spring of 1824, a small group of trappers entered the Green River Valley, where they found an abundance of beaver and friendly Shoshone willing to trade. The following year supplies were brought from St. Louis and the first rendezvous was held, launching the rendezvous era of the Rocky Mountain fur trade. Meet us on the Green where the rendezvous era began and six of the sixteen rendezvous were held to celebrate the bicentennial of the "eve of rendezvous."
Presentations & Speakers
• Banquet Keynote – A Swirling Mass of Humanity: Migration, Exploration and Trade before the Rendezvous, - by Jim Hanson, Museum of the Fur Trade, Chadon, NE
• The 1823-1824 Enterprise of Jedediah Smith’s Fur Brigade: The Arikara Aftermath, Apsáalooke/Absaroka Crow Encounters, and the Rediscovery of South Pass
by Jay H. Buckley & Stephen V. Banks
• The Evolution of Rendezvous - by Jim Hardee
• Who Led the First Trappers Across South Pass in 1824, Thomas Fitzpatrick or Jedediah Smith? - by Clay Landry
• John Henry Weber’s Trappers Explore Green River and Beyond
- by Jerry Enzler
• Andrew Henry - by Mark Kelly
• William Clark: Tripod Stool Geographer
How John Colter found the Headwaters of the Green River and Clark Lost Them
- by Sheri Wysong
• The Use of Elk Hide Tipis - by Brad Bailey
• Booze of the Fur Trade - by Bill Gwaltney
• Feast and Famine: Dining With The Mountaineers - by Doyle Reid
• Mountain Man Hall of Fame: Who was the Greatest of All Time?
- Panel Discussion
Special Programs & Exhibits
Mountain Man Living History Camp in partnership with the American Mountain Men (AMM).
The camp will be set up every evening Thursday, Friday and Saturday (5pm to 9pm) on the large north lawn at the Museum for guests to visit and learn about camp and gear from the mountain man. Thursday & Saturday evenings the camp will be separated into subject areas that guests can visit to listen to discussions and ask questions about the daily lives of the mountain men. Friday evening, the AMM will host a rendezvous dinner.
Members of the American Mountain Men attending the Symposium are welcome to be part of the mountain man camp and camp overnight and the weekend, but must use only pre-1840s equipment.
Rendezvous Dinner at Mountain Man Camp
The AMM will host dinner around the campfire in a series of messes (5 to 10) each around a campfire with at least one host and up to 20 guests. Each mess will be cooking a different period food and brave individuals can have a taste.
There will be no formal presentations, but hosts will be prepared to talk about food, cooking and daily lives in general.
Catered Food – The main meal will be based around smoked buffalo and side dishes prepared away from the camp and brought to fire side for serving with period authentic plates, cups and utensils. Guest are invited to enjoy their meal seated around the fire.
Alternative to messes – For those who do not want to sit around campfire to eat, tables and chairs will be set up on the small lawn adjacent to the camp to eat and guest can then join the camp when done. This will be the same main meal.
Tasting of period food would be at the campfires.
Bad weather alternative – If too windy or wet weather, the same meal will be served in the pavilion with tables and chairs.
Rendezvous Grounds Session
Guests are invited to a special Saturday morning session at DeSmet Monument overlooking the historic rendezvous ground to listen to the significant stories that happened on this spot during the 1833, 1835, 1836, 1837, 1839, & 1840 rendezvous.
The two-hour session will feature a series of short presentations by different speakers to talk about each rendezvous. Chairs, bathrooms and a speaker system will be set up on site. There is plenty of parking and good roads for guest to make the 20-minute trip to the site in their own vehicles. This special on-site event is open to the public. The session is timed in the morning to try and avoid afternoon winds/storms. But, the bad weather alternative is to hold the same presentations in the Pinedale Library and invite guest to visit Trappers Point or DeSmet Monument on their own at another time.
Auto Tours
A series of guided and self-guided auto tours from various directions will be developed for people to join on their way to Pinedale as if they are on the road to rendezvous. These will be during the day on Thursday coming to Pinedale and the same tours in reverse leaving Pinedale on Sunday. Using you own vehicle, a series of stops will be developed for guests to hear the guide tell fur trade history that happened at those sites. Guest will all meet at a designated starting point and time. A map of all stops and itinerary will be distributed in case anyone gets separated. Bathroom stops will be arranged, but guest should bring along their own snacks, drinks and supplies. The guided tours are free, but an email reservation request will be sent to all registered symposium attendees in late August to help manage logistics. Each tour will also be made into a self-guided booklet that can be downloaded and printed from the symposium website for people wanting to travel on their own or take tours at a different time. These will be permanently available for anyone to use.
The Naming of Horse Creek by Tim TannerArtist Tim Tanner is creating an original painting depicting the story of Thomas Fitzpatrick and his small band of trappers having their horses stolen in the spring of 1824 on what has since been known as Horse Creek. This will be unveiled during the opening Symposium session, on display throughout the Symposium and will a permanent part of the Museum of the Mountain Man collection.
One With the Land Art Exhibit
The lower gallery of the Museum of the Mountain Man will feature over 70 original pieces of mountain man art by more than 35 contemporary artists through the summer of 2024. Guests are invited to a reception and viewing on Thursday (September 12, 2024) evening of the Symposium, or stop by anytime the Museum is open. The art will be on display May through October, 2024. All of the art work is on loan from the Peterson Family Collection. Pictures
Business Meeting – Bicentennial Discussion The main purpose of the business meeting is to formally recognize Fort Union Trading Post NHS as the location of the next National Fur Trade Symposium, September 20-23, 2028 to celebrate the bicentennial of the fort. There will also be discussions on potential coordination of marketing of bicentennial events, especially at rendezvous and fur trade sites over the next two decades.
Schedule:
Thursday, September 12, 2024 – Guided Auto Tours of fur trade sites
Auto Tour #1 – Independence Rock, South Pass to Pinedale guided by Scott Walker
Auto Tour #2 – Pierre’s Hole, Teton Pass, Hoback to Pinedale guided by Jim Hardee
5:00pm – 6:00pm Tour of "One With the Land" art exhibit at the Museum of the Mountain Man
5:00pm – 8:00pm Visit the Mountain Man Camp at the Museum
6:00pm – Reception & dinner at the Museum of the Mountain Man Pavilion.
Friday, September 13, 2024 - Symposium
8:30am – 9:00am: Welcome & Naming of Horse Creek – Clint Gilchrist & Tim Tanner
9:00am – Noon: Presentations at Pinedale Library
- The 1823-1824 Enterprise of Jedediah Smith’s Fur Brigade, by Jay Buckley & Steve Banks
- Who Led the First Trappers Across South Pass in 1824?, by Clay Landry
- John Henry Weber’s Trappers Explore Green River and Beyond, by Jerry Enzler
Noon – 1:00pm: Lunch served at Pinedale Library
1:00pm – 5:00pm: Presentations at Pinedale Library
- The Evolution of Rendezvous, by Jim Hardee
- The Use of Elk Hide Tipis, by Brad Bailey
- Booze of the Fur Trade, by Bill Gwaltney
- Feast and Famine: Dining With The Mountaineers, by Doyle Reid
5:00pm – 8:00pm Visit to Mountain Man Camp
6:00pm – Rendezvous Dinner Mountain Man Camp at the Museum of the Mountain Man.
Saturday, September 14, 2024 – Symposium
9:00am – 11:00am: Special Session at Rendezvous Grounds – DeSmet Monument
Noon – 1:00pm: Lunch served at Pinedale Library
1:00pm – 4:00pm: Presentations at Pinedale Library - Andrew Henry by Mark Kelly
- William Clark: Tripod Stool Geographer by Sheri Wysong
- Mountain Man Hall of Fame: Who was the Greatest of All Time? Panel Discussion
4:00pm: Business Meeting
5:00pm – 8:00pm Visit to Mountain Man Camp
6:00pm: Banquet at the Museum of the Mountain Man Pavilion. Keynote Speaker Jim Hanson: A Swirling Mass of Humanity: Migration, Exploration and Trade before the Rendezvous
Sunday, September 15, 2024 – Guided Auto Tours of fur trade sites
Auto Tour #1 – Pinedale to South Pass, Independence Rock, guided by Scott Walker
Auto Tour #2 – Pinedale to Hoback, Teton Pass, Pierre’s Hole, guided by Jim Hardee
All tours commencing at Museum of the Mountain Man and ending by 5pm or earlier. Same routes as Thursday, but in reverse.
Thurs, Fri, Sat: Museum of the Mountain Man open 9am-9pm.
Free Admission during Symposium to registered participants.
The Museum thanks their very generous sponsors to help keep costs down: Wyoming Community Foundation, Joe Ricketts Nebraska Foundation, Wyoming Cultural Trust Fund, Pinedale Travel & Tourism Commission.
More information: https://museumofthemountainman.com/symposium2024
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