Étienne Provost

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Étienne Provost (1785 - 1850) was a French Canadian fur trader whose trapping and trading activities in the American southwest preceded Mexican independence. Leading a company headquartered in Taos, in what is today New Mexico, he was active in the Green River drainage and the central portion of modern Utah and is considered the first man of European descent to see the Great Salt Lake.

Provost's company of trappers preceded the men of the Rocky Mountain Fur Company in the central Rocky Mountains. He later led American Fur Company brigades on the upper Missouri River, as an employee of John Jacob Astor.

Provost's activities and explorations were well known among traders and settlers in the American Southwest. The Provo River and Provo Canyon in central Utah are named for the fur trader as is the adjacent community of Provo.

[edit] References

• Hafen, LeRoy R. Étienne Provost, "Fur Trappers and Traders of the Far Southwest". Utah State University Press, Logan, Utah, 1968. ISBN 0-87421-235-9