1782-1863
The government authorized “factor,” or agent for Fort Osage, Sibley resided at the fort longer than anyone. He witnessed the founding of the fort in early September 1808. He evacuated it in June 1813, during the War of 1812, and returned in the fall of 1815, with his new bride Mary. Sibley also oversaw the shut-down in August 1822, when government-sponsored Native American trade ceased and continued to reside in his home there for a few more years. Sibley directed a survey of the Santa Fe Trail in 1825 and negotiated a final treaty with the Osage before finally leaving in 1827. The Town of Sibley founded in 1836 at the location of Fort Osage bears his name.