Walla Walla History, Washington

Walla Walla was actually a tribe that lived in the north western part of the United States for ages. This tribe is amongst the three tribes which make up the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation. This federally recognized confederation consists of two more historical tribes namely the Umatilla and Cayuse. All these three tribes used to live in and around the Columbia River Plateau. Now this Indian reservation is located in the proximity of the Blue Mountains.

It was September 1st, 1836, when Marcus Whiteman and his wife Narcissa Whiteman arrived on this land which is today called the city of Walla Walla. After spending some time here they tried to convert the local Walla Walla tribe to their religion which was Christianity. For this they started the Whiteman mission which later on proved to be a failure. The reason behind the failure was the spreading of an epidemic which the Cayuse tribe assumed to be some poison the Whiteman’s were spreading and hence they killed them. Recently the famous Whiteman College was founded in the memory of these two who were the founders of the city.

Later on, the migrants that were moving from Oregon Country started to stop on this land to rest. Another reason for the migrants stopping here was the formation of two famous companies namely Fort Nez Perces (the famous Hudson Bay’s Company) and the Northwest Company which had huge fur business.

The famous Mullan Road was built in 1859 and connected Columbia to Missouri. The starting point of this road was the Walla Walla River (which actually adjoins the famous Columbia River). This became another stepping stone in the foundation of this city.

Later on, on 11 January, 1862, the city of Walla Walla was actually incorporated. Many gold mines were discovered in and around the city during this time and hence it soon became an important city for many businessmen. There was a time when it was actually called the capital of Washington. In January 2008 the city faced a severe storm which did halt the city progress for many months.