This
site commemorates the courage of Marcus and Narcissa Whitman, the role
the Whitmans played in establishing the Oregon Trail, and the challenges
encountered when two different cultures meet.
In 1836, before the wagon trains, a small intrepid group of Presbyterian
missionaries traveled with the annual fur trappers caravan into
Oregon Country. Missionaries Narcissa Whitman and Eliza Spalding
became the first white women to travel across the continent. Differences
in culture led to growing tensions between the Cayuse people and the Whitmans.
Their mission became an important stop along the Oregon Trail, but passing
immigrants added to the tension. A measles outbreak in 1847 killed half
the local Cayuse. Some of the Cayuse blamed these deaths on Dr. Whitman.
Dr. and Mrs. Whitman were killed; sixty people were taken hostage. The
deaths of the Whitmans sent a shock wave across the country and prompted
Congress to make Oregon a U.S. territory.
Whitman Mission is
located in SE Washington, 7 miles west of Walla Walla, just off Hwy. 12.
Operating Hours & Seasons
Open everyday, seven
days a week, except Thanksgiving, December 25, January 1.
Visitor Center hours: Summer: 8:00 - 6:00. Rest of year: 8:00 - 4:30.
Park grounds close
at dark.
Communities
Surrounding Whitman Mission National Historic Site
Note: The times listed below are approximate driving times to the park.