Walla Walla Washington's Historic Whitman Mission

Located on Highway 12 just a few miles west of Walla Walla, Washington, the Whitman Mission National Historic Site is easy to get to from any direction. The park has been operated by the U.S. Department of the Interior since it was established in 1940. At that time, 98 acres were set aside to commemorate the efforts of missionary Marcus Whitman, who sought to pacify and bring white man's religion to the Cayuse Indians. They weren't making much progress when in 1847, a small pox epidemic struck the Northwest. They saw the white settlers that Dr. Whitman treated survived, while their own people died. The Indians didn't understand that the whites had natural immunity. Instead they thought the doctor was poisoning them. They attacked the mission, killing Whitman and his wife, Narcissa, and a dozen others. Fifty others were captured and later ransomed by fur trader Peter Skein Ogden of the Hudson's Bay Company.

If you are a history buff, you will enjoy the interpretive center, open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily in the summer and 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the winter. The center displays artifacts from the original mission that have been found and preserved. The center also preserves also tools and artifacts left behind by the Indians. Displays paint a picture of what life must have been like during the 1830s and 1840s. You can also watch a 10-minute slide show to understand more about the Whitman Mission. Scripts of the slide show are available for the hearing impaired. The center has a gift shop featuring historical books of the mission, the nearby city of Walla Walla, and the region. During certain times of the year the center offers ranger talks, reenactments, and historical demonstrations such as blacksmithing and spinning.

Step outside the center to see where it all happened. Refurbished trails take you past the Great Grave, where several of the victims were buried during the Whitman Massacre, as it is now known. The trail goes to the top of a small hill, where a beautiful obelisk, reminiscent of the Washington monument, marks Whitman's grave. This vista is thought to be the place where Narcissa Whitman watched for the return of her husband, coming back from his many excursions among the Indians. The trail continues down the hill around the old mission site and crosses a portion of the old Oregon Trail. At the bottom of the hill is the grave site of Alice Whitman, only child of the Whitmans. She died before the Indian uprising, at about the age of two.

Take the trail to the old mission site, where the original settlement has been marked. The first house, the grist mill, the blacksmith shop, and the emigrant house have been marked in their relationship to each other and to the old millpond. The Walla Walla River used to pass through the mission grounds, giving the settlers a fresh water supply very close by. Over the years, the river has cut a new channel further south of the mission grounds.

Flora and fauna abound in this area around the mission, especially birds. Waterfowl, falcons, owls, hawks, pheasants, woodpeckers, swallows, sparrows, finches, and many others are common to this area. Watch for deer, rabbits, coyotes, badgers, skunks, muskrats, minks, snakes, and squirrels too. Some of the trees here are very old. Black locust trees can be found all over the mission grounds. These trees were planted by Marcus Whitman. The missionaries also planted a variety of fruit trees, most of which no longer stand. Sycamores, hawthorns, and silver poplars have been planted by park staff to enhance and protect the site. The trees shade a nice picnic area available for park visitors. Native grasses, lupine, and yarrow also grow wild throughout the park.

If you arrive too late to visit the interpretive center, take a walk through the grounds, which are open until dusk. For more information about this national treasure, call the visitor information center at 509-529-2761 or visit their website at http://www.nps.gov/whmi/index.htm.