Hiram M. Chittenden

Hiram M. Chittenden

Hiram Martin Chittenden (1858–1917) was a leading historian of the American West, especially the fur trade. A graduate of West Point, he was the Seattle district engineer for the Army Corps of Engineers (April 1906 – September 1908) for whom the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks in Seattle, Washington, were named. Dodds says, "His works on the Yellowstone, the fur trade, and on Missouri River steamboating were long recognized as definitive....His style was formal, clear, and undramatic. His works contain a mass of detail. He was typical of the Progressive era of American history in his strong belief in progress and in 'the divine mission of the Anglo-Saxon.'"