- Peter A. Sarpy
Infobox Person
name = Peter Abadie Sarpy
caption =
birth_date = 1804
birth_place =New Orleans, Louisiana
death_date =January 4 ,1865
death_place =Plattsmouth, Nebraska
other_names =
known_for = Civic activities
occupation = Fur trader
nationality =Peter Abadie Sarpy (1804-1865) was the owner and operator of several trading posts essential to the establishment of the
Nebraska Territory and a thriving ferry business. He helped lay out the towns ofBellevue andDecatur, Nebraska . The legislature namedSarpy County after him in honor of his service to the state.Biography
Born in
New Orleans, Louisiana , Sarpy moved with his family toSt. Louis, Missouri as a child. In 1823 he went to the Nebraska Territory to work at theAmerican Fur Company 's trading post at Council Bluff, north of present-day Bellevue. There he worked for his brother's father-in-law, John Pierre Cabanné who ran Cabanne's Trading Post. [Federal Writers Project . (1939) "Nebraska: A guide to the Cornhusker State."Nebraska State Historical Society . p 267.] Trade with area Indian tribes was competed for by both Cabanné's Post andPilcher's Post , established at Bellevue by the Missouri Fur Company.Sarpy later established a trading post and supply point for white settlers and pioneers on the
Iowa side of theMissouri River . It went by various names, including Sarpy's Point and the "Trader's Post". [ [http://www.nacone.org/webpages/counties/countywebs/sarpy.htm "History of Sarpy County"] , Nebraska Association of County Officials. Retrieved 8/8/08.] [ [http://iagenweb.org/mills/history/MillsHistory/ferries.htm "The Early Ferries"] . Retrieved 8/8/08.]In 1832 Cabanné ordered Sarpy to head a group of American Fur Company employees who took over a
keelboat and its goods belonging to a competing company. The fur business had cutthroat competition. After getting caught, both Cabanné and Sarpy were ordered to leaveIndian Territory for a year. Later the company replaced Cabanné withJoshua Pilcher at Cabanné's Trading Post. [ [http://www.nebraskahistory.org/histpres/nebraska/sarpy.htm "Nebraska National Register Sites in Sarpy County"] ,Nebraska State Historical Society . Retrieved 8/8/08.]After operating the Council Bluff trading post during 1835, Sarpy moved westward. In 1837 he established
Fort Jackson on the upperSouth Platte River in present-dayColorado .The next year Sarpy returned to the Bellevue area, and built another trading post. About 1846 Sarpy also started a ferrying business across the Missouri between Bellevue and the Iowa side. In 1846/47 Sarpy ferried
Mormons across the river and supplied them for the rest of their trip. During the ensuinggold rush years, Sarpy's ferry boats hauled many of the would-be gold miners across the Missouri. [ [http://www.nebraskastudies.org/0400/frameset_reset.html?http://www.nebraskastudies.org/0400/stories/0401_0125.html "Peter Sarpy"] , NebraskaStudies.org. Retrieved 8/8/08.] Sarpy expanded his ferry business in two other locations: to cross theElkhorn River at Elkhorn City, later called Elk City, and also at a fork of theLoup River near present-day Columbus. By the 1850s, his fleet included a steam ferry. [ [http://home.att.net/~mman/SarpyPeter.htm "Peter A. Sarpy"] . Retrieved 8/8/08]After Sarpy returned to Bellevue in 1838, he became influential in community affairs. Through his efforts, the area post office was established there in 1849. In 1854, Sarpy was among the group that laid out the town of Bellevue. In 1857 Sarpy joined
Stephen Decatur and others in founding Decatur along the Missouri in northeastern Burt County. [ [http://www.nebraskasocialstudies.org/notable/sarpy.html "Peter Abadie Sarpy"] , Nebraska Social Studies Association. Retrieved 8/8/08.] [ [http://casde.unl.edu/history/counties/sarpy/bellevue/ "Bellevue - Sarpy County"] ,University of Nebraska-Lincoln . Retrieved 8/8/08.] Sarpy moved to Plattsmouth in 1862, and died there onJanuary 4 ,1865 .Honors and legacy
* Sarpy County was named in his honor. [ [http://www.nebraskasocialstudies.org/notable/sarpy.html "Peter Abadie Sarpy"] , Nebraska Social Studies Association. Retrieved 8/8/08.] [ [http://casde.unl.edu/history/counties/sarpy/bellevue/ "Bellevue - Sarpy County"] ,
University of Nebraska-Lincoln . Retrieved 8/8/08.]* Sarpy's Post was added to the
National Register of Historic Places .See also
*
History of Nebraska References
External links
* [http://www.kancoll.org/books/andreas_ne/graphics/sarpy-g1.html Historical image] of Peter Sarpy.
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