This
was the place where Marcus and Narcissa Whitman finally
ended their epic 1836 journey. Their small expedition was
the first to bring families to Oregon by wagon (See
Introduction to the Trail) . The Whitmans named their
mission Waiilatpu "place of rye grass."
In
the early 1840s, the Whitman Mission became an important
stop for the emigrants. There was a gristmill and a blacksmith
shop here--and acres of crops.
Narcissa
Whitman:
"The season has arrived when the emigrants are beginning
to pass us on their way to the Willamette. Last season there
were such a multitude of starving people passed us, that
quite drained us of our provisions, except potatoes. Husband
has been endeavoring this summer to cultivate so as to be
able to impart without so much distressing ourselves."
Beginning
in 1845, most wagon trains took a shortcut that bypassed
the Whitman Mission. Emigrants came here only if they were
sick, or low on supplies. In 1847, one of those emigrant
wagon trains brought measles to the mission. The white children
recovered, but the local Cayuse tribe had no resistance.
Half the tribe died. In a fit of rage, two Cayuse killed
Marcus and Narcissa Whitman--and a dozen others. The story
of the Whitman mission came to an end.
Whitman
Mission
Official web site of the National Park Service
