Whitman Mission National Historic Site is a United States National Historic Site located just west of

Walla Walla, Washington Walla Walla is a city in Walla Walla County, Washington, where it is the largest city and county seat. It had a population of 34,060 at the 2020 census, estimated to have decreased to 33,927 as of 2021. The population of the city and its two su ...

, at the site of the former Whitman Mission at Waiilatpu. On November 29, 1847, Dr. Marcus Whitman, his wife

Narcissa Whitman Narcissa Prentiss Whitman (March 14, 1808 – November 29, 1847) was an American missionary in the Oregon Country of what would become the state of Washington. On their way to found the Protestant Whitman Mission in 1836 with her husband, Marcus ...

, and 11 others were slain by Native Americans of the Cayuse. The site commemorates the Whitmans, their role in establishing the

Oregon Trail The Oregon Trail was a east–west, large-wheeled wagon route and Westward Expansion Trails, emigrant trail in the United States that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon. The eastern part of the Oregon Trail spanned part of what ...

, and the challenges encountered when two cultures meet.

History

left, The first printing press in the Pacific Northwest was first used at the Whitman mission, initially to print religious texts and legal documents., 248x248px WhitmanMissionSunset1

In 1836, a small group of

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

missionaries traveled with the annual fur trapper's caravan into

Oregon Country Oregon Country was a large region of the Pacific Northwest of North America that was subject to a long dispute between the United Kingdom and the United States in the early 19th century. The area, which had been created by the Treaty of 1818, co ...

. Among the group, Narcissa Whitman and

Eliza Hart Spalding Eliza Hart Spalding (1807–1851) was an American missionary who joined an Oregon missionary party with her husband Henry H. Spalding and settled among the Nez Perce People called the nimiipuu in Lapwai, Idaho. She was a well-educated woman who ...

became the first white women to travel across the continent. Marcus Whitman and Narcissa Whitman established the Whitman Mission at Waiilatpu, near the Walla Walla River. The mission was in Cayuse Country. The Cayuse welcomed the Whitmans to their land in 1836 after learning of them the previous year from Samuel Parker. The Mission became an important stop along the Oregon Trail from 1843-1847, and passing immigrants added to the tension. With the influx of white settlers the Cayuse became suspicious of the Whitmans again, fearing that the white man was coming to take the land. A

measles Measles is a highly contagious infectious disease caused by measles virus. Symptoms usually develop 10–12 days after exposure to an infected person and last 7–10 days. Initial symptoms typically include fever, often greater than , cough, ...

outbreak in November 1847 killed half the local Cayuse. The measles also broke out in the Mission but more white settlers survived. Some of the Cayuse blamed the devastation of their tribe on Dr. Whitman and Mrs. Whitman. They were killed along with eleven others; forty-seven other mission residents were taken hostage. The deaths of the Whitmans shocked the country, prompting

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...

to make Oregon a U.S. territory, and precipitated the

Cayuse War The Cayuse War was an armed conflict that took place in the Northwestern United States from 1847 to 1855 between the Cayuse people of the region and the United States Government and local American settlers. Caused in part by the influx of disease ...

. Five Cayuse were hanged for murder; see

Cayuse Five The Cayuse Five were five members of the Native American tribe, the Cayuse of Oregon who were hanged for murder, in 1850. Their names were Clokomas, Isiaasheluckas, Kiamasumkin, Telakite, and Tomahas—note how these names are spelled varies ...

. In more recent times, the site has been excavated for important artifacts, and then reburied. A memorial obelisk, erected fifty years after the event, stands on a nearby hill. The historic site was established in 1936 as Whitman National Monument and was redesignated a National Historic Site on January 1, 1963.

References

External links

National Park Service: Whitman Mission National Historic Site
{{authority control 19th-century colonization of the Americas 1936 establishments in Washington (state) Archaeological sites in Washington (state) Cayuse War Christian missions History museums in Washington (state) History of Walla Walla County, Washington History of Washington (state) Museums in Walla Walla County, Washington National Historic Sites in Washington (state) Native American history of Washington (state) Oregon Country Oregon Trail Parks in Walla Walla County, Washington Properties of religious function on the National Register of Historic Places in Washington (state) Protected areas established in 1936 National Register of Historic Places in Walla Walla County, Washington