Name/Title
FlagEntry/Object ID
1942.03.02Description
Red ensign flag, the historic flag of the Hudson's Bay Company (abbreviated HBC). Made of cotton, the white letters and details of the Union Jack have yellowed with age. HBC was chartered as a private company in England in 1670, and by the mid-19th century had fur trading posts throughout North America. Fort Nisqually was established by the HBC in 1833, and became the headquarters for the HBC subsidiary, the Puget Sound Agricultural Company in 1838. The Hudson's Bay Company still exists today as a retail corporation based in Canada. This flag measures 3 feet by 6 feet, and was given to the restored Fort Nisqually in the early days of the museum in the 1940s. A photograph in the Tacoma Public Library collection captures the moment on February 12, 1941 when Mr. T. Haakinson presented preservation council representative Dr. H.V. Hoover the flag on behalf of the Hudson's Bay Company.