The Wascopam Mission or Dalles Mission was a branch of the

Methodist Mission The Methodist Mission was the Methodist Episcopal Church's 19th-century conversion efforts in the Pacific Northwest. Local Indigenous cultures were introduced to western culture and Christianity. Superintendent Jason Lee was the principal leader f ...

active in the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though ...

. It was the first post established outside the

Willamette Valley The Willamette Valley ( ) is a long valley in Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. The Willamette River flows the entire length of the valley and is surrounded by mountains on three sides: the Cascade Range to the east ...

, opened at

Celilo Falls Celilo Falls (Wyam, meaning "echo of falling water" or "sound of water upon the rocks," in several native languages) was a tribal fishing area on the Columbia River, just east of the Cascade Mountains, on what is today the border between the U.S ...

along the Columbia River on March 21, 1838, by Reverends Daniel Lee and Henry K. W. Perkins.

Establishment

Lumber for the buildings was cut mostly by neighboring Wascos and the mission was often called Wascopam after them. The mission consisted of a schoolhouse, garden, stable, barn, and two dwellings along with a cleared pasture adjacent to the wood huts used by the Native American villagers. Supplies were procured from

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC; french: Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson) is a Canadian retail business group. A fur trade, fur trading business for much of its existence, HBC now owns and operates retail stores in Canada. The company's namesake b ...

stations

Fort Vancouver Fort Vancouver was a 19th century fur trading post that was the headquarters of the Hudson's Bay Company's Columbia Department, located in the Pacific Northwest. Named for Captain George Vancouver, the fort was located on the northern bank of the ...

and

Fort Nez Percés Fort Nez Percés (or Fort Nez Percé, with or without the accent aigu), later known as (Old) Fort Walla Walla, was a fortified fur trading post on the Columbia River on the territory of modern-day Wallula, Washington. Despite being named after t ...

along with the Methodist stations of Mission Bottom and later Mission Mill with Chinookan and Walla Walla escorts. During one such trip the provisions for the party had dwindled and a horse had to be consumed until salmon could be purchased from a Clackamas village. The main tribes proselytized to from this location were the Walla Wallas, the Wascos, the Wishram, the Klickitats, the Cascades, and the Shastas. Missionaries used Pulpit Rock to preach to the natives and was at first successful in converting some.

Pulpit Rock

Pulpit Rock is a rock about tall in what is now

The Dalles, Oregon The Dalles is the largest city of Wasco County, Oregon, United States. The population was 16,010 at the 2020 census, and it is the largest city on the Oregon side of the Columbia River between the Portland Metropolitan Area, and Hermis ...

. Prior to European American settlement, the rock was carved by natural elements in an open area on a slight slope. The Methodist missionaries were known to preach to the local Native Americans during the 1830s and 1840s from this rock. The rock currently stands in the intersection of E. 12th and Court streets, directly south of

The Dalles-Wahtonka High School The Dalles High School (TDHS), formerly The Dalles Wahtonka High School (TDW) is a public high school located in The Dalles, Oregon, United States. It houses students from both The Dalles and the adjacent town of Mosier. History In 2004, Nor ...

, with a historical marker. The city kept the rock at its location in the middle of a street due to history surrounding the rock. A mural on a building in downtown The Dalles features the rock prior to the development of the current roads and neighborhood around it.

Closing

The Wascopam Mission was sold for $600 to

Marcus Whitman Marcus Whitman (September 4, 1802 – November 29, 1847) was an American physician and missionary. In 1836, Marcus Whitman led an overland party by wagon to the West. He and his wife, Narcissa, along with Reverend Henry Spalding and his wife, E ...

in 1847, who intended to move there. However after the

Whitman massacre The Whitman massacre (also known as the Walla Walla massacre and referred to as the Tragedy at Waiilatpu by the National Park Service) was the killing of the Washington missionaries Marcus Whitman and his wife Narcissa, along with eleven others, ...

and the eruption of 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 ...

, the mission was occupied by the Oregon militia. The station was returned to the Methodist Mission in 1849, and as the ABCFM had yet to be pay for the station, its bill of purchase was waived. The Dalles mission did not get used again by the Methodists, and it was sold to the Federal Government for $24,000. The U.S. Army developed

Fort Dalles Fort Dalles was a United States Army outpost located on the Columbia River at the present site of The Dalles, Oregon, in the United States. Built when Oregon was a territory, the post was used mainly for dealing with wars with Native Americans. Th ...

during the 1850s on the site of the Wascopam Mission, becoming the center of modern town of

The Dalles The Dalles is the largest city of Wasco County, Oregon, United States. The population was 16,010 at the 2020 census, and it is the largest city on the Oregon side of the Columbia River between the Portland Metropolitan Area, and Hermist ...

. The remaining indigenous people inhabiting the surrounding region were evicted by the U.S. Army to the

Warm Springs Indian Reservation The Warm Springs Indian Reservation consists of in north-central Oregon, in the United States, and is governed by the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs. Tribes Three tribes form the confederation: the Wasco, Tenino (Warm Springs) and Pa ...

. During litigation that reached the

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

in 1883 between the church and settlers in the area, the Methodists land claims of the Dalles were rejected. Three years later the church gave $23,000 to settlers who had previously paid for lots on the now defunct claim.

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * {{Oregon Country Missionaries History of Christianity in the United States Methodism in Oregon Methodist Mission in Oregon Oregon Country Pre-statehood history of Oregon