It was at this time that fur traders began working their way southwest from the Canadian Northwest and west from the Missouri River into the Oregon territory. Many were mixed-bloods: the result of European or Canadian fathers and native American Mothers. They were quickly absorbed into the customs of the new land, marrying Indian wives and living within a culture of their own making.

Some of this new breed congregated around the trading posts that had sprung up, where they were employed as laborers, packers or boatment. The majority, however, traveled with the trapping brigades, living under a loose set of rules that afforded them a semblance of independence. So much so that they referred to themselves as "western freemen."

As the trapping brigades branched out into various parts of the country, trading posts were established where they could trade in their furs, gather supplies and meet with other trappers.

Just such a post was established in present day Marion County, when on November 23, 1812, J.C. Halsey, Clerk of the Pacific Fur Company, left Astoria with William Wallace and fourteen other men to select a site and to erect buildings for a trading post in the Willamette Valley. By this time provisions were running low at Fort Astoria, and scurvy was beginning to appear in the men. Game was known to be plentiful in the Willamette Valley.

During this same period a second establishment known as "the Wallace House" was built on the site of what later became Salem. Named after William Wallace, it is later believed to have become part of the Oregon Institute.

With the arrival of Donald McKenzie at Astoria January 15, 1813 came news of the war between the United States and Great Britain. Food was getting short and fears that the supply ships would be cut off by British warships prompted the decision to send a second party to the Willamette. Late in January 1813, clerks John Reed and Alfred Seton, left with a portion of the men to winter with Wallace and Halsey.

By March 1813 Reed and Seton, having delivered their charges, had returned to Astoria with venison and a report that a "dwelling and trading post" had been established on the prairie beside the Willamette.

It is interesting to note that this area had also been chosen as a meeting place for the local tribes. Champoeg was the site of an Indian village and the headquarters of the local chieftain. The scattered tribesmen gathered here several times a year. They came there in the spring before setting off on expeditions to spear salmon at the Falls, in the summer before game hunts, and in the fall for the berry trek to the high mountains.

By the summer of 1813 the North West Company were arriving in force at the mouth of the Columbia. With the outlook turning grim for the Astorians it was decided to sell out to the Northwest Company and on Oct 16, 1813 final arrangements were being made. Most of the former Pacific Fur Company employees were offered employment with the NW Fur Company. Those who did not wish to join were to be provided overland transportation in the spring. A considerable number decided to return east, and while waiting for spring to arrive, became a considerable drain on both the patience and supplies of the new landlords.

Shortly after the agreements were finalized the North West Company moved into the Willamette Valley to claim its spoils. By November 17, 1813, a clerk named William Henry was in charge. Concerned that trouble was brewing among the Indians in the valley he sent a messenger to Fort George requesting help. The next day William Wallace and ten men headed for the Willamette as reinforcement. Apparently tensions eased because there appears to have been no serious conflicts recorded for this time period.

The trade center, or "Willamette Post", as it became known, was located on a knoll approximately three miles up the Willamette River from Champoeg. During a visit to his nephew in 1814, Alexander Henry, Chief Trader of the NW Fur Company, described his arrival at the Post as follows: "Ascending the hill, and passing through a wood for 300 paces, I came to a delightful prairie, on which I saw the house, 150 paces off. This plain is about two miles long and a quarter mile broad; along the middle runs a rising ground from east to west, on which the house is situated. Here I found Mr. William Henry in charge, with Mr. Seton, 30 men and two huts of freemen and Nepisangues as hunters. The natives of this quarter were also at the house."

By 1816 tensions were again running high between the Indians and the trappers. In the fall, a party of ten men were confronted by members of a local tribe demanding tribute for hunting on their lands. When the trappers refused, a battle ensued that resulted in the death of a chief. The trappers retreated to Fort George and hunting in the Willamette was ended for some time.

In the following years, there were numerous conflicts with the Indians followed by periods of calm. In 1821 the North West Company joined with it's powerful rival, the Hudson's Bay Company. Most of the North West partners joined the new firm and retained the Hudson Bay Company name. The new aliance created a company that in effect, dominated the Oregon country for almost a decade.

By the mid 1830s the revenue from trapping had begun to subside. Many of the men from the various posts in the Willamette were electing to settle in the land that they had come to call home. The three main areas of settlement were on the French Prairie in the lower Willamette Valley, the north Tualatin plains, and the open prairies along the Cowlitz River. It is indisputable that these families left a lasting imprint on the region.

On French Prairie they started the first farms, established some of the first mills. Their petitions brought in Catholic priests to minister to their religious needs and in turn resulted in the establishment of some of the first Catholic churches. Some were participants in the forming of the Provisional Government . The names of some of these individuals are forever woven into the fabric of history that became Marion County. Some, uncomfortable with the changes being made, moved to reservations to be with the families of their wives. Others moved on and were not heard of again.